Updated: 03/03/2014 12:19 | By Channel NewsAsia
Drug offender on death row gets life sentence
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SINGAPORE: A drug courier on death row has had his sentence reduced to life imprisonment.
Dinesh Pillai Raja Retnam is the third person to escape the gallows under the revised Misuse of Drugs Act, but the first to have his death penalty lifted on grounds of mental disability.
On Monday the High Court found that Dinesh Pillai had only played the role of a courier.
The 31-year-old is also deemed to be suffering from an "abnormality of mind" which "substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts".
He was assessed to be suffering from major depressive disorder of moderate severity at and around the time of the offence.
A medical examination also suggested some degree of damage to his brain.
The Attorney-General's Chambers said that the High Court's finding is "consistent with Parliament's intent in ensuring this exception operates in a measured and narrowly defined way", which extends latitude for consideration in cases like Dinesh Pillai's, without undermining the government's zero-tolerance policy towards drugs. - CNA/nd/xq
