20 September 2025: Tune in to a cross-border press conference on the death penalty

In a little late this weekend—Mekong Review editing season has started and I spent yesterday writing, editing, and emailing (not necessarily in that order) until pretty late at night.

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The Transformative Justice Collective, along with Amnesty International Malaysia and the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), will be holding a joint, cross-border press conference on Monday morning.

Last week, I wrote about a joint appeal for clemency submitted by four death row families, representing their loved ones: Datchinamurthy Kataiah, Jumaat Mohamed Sayed, Saminathan Selvaraju, and Lingkesvaran Rajendaren. Since the Court of Appeal has dismissed their constitutional challenge against the presumption clauses in the Misuse of Drugs Act, there is now nothing stopping the state from scheduling their executions. Also in danger is Pannir Selvam Pranthaman—the Court of Appeal dismissed his application for a stay of execution earlier this month, ruling that his pending complaint to the Law Society of Singapore against his former lawyer doesn't count as a "relevant legal proceeding" that would prevent the authorities from executing him.

So far, none of them have been issued execution notices. But we can't afford to wait, because there will be no time when the notice arrives—since they've been issued notices before, Datch and Pannir will only get four days' advance notice.

These five men have spent between seven to ten years on death row each. Datch and Pannir, especially, have been among the fiercest fighters, not just for themselves but for everyone on death row. They've tried everything they can, despite the highly restrictive and cruel conditions they have had to endure in Changi Prison.

Now it has to be up to us.

At Monday's press conference—co-organised and fronted by Singaporeans and Malaysians—we have messages for our respective governments and peoples, about what urgently needs to be done to defend human rights and end state killing.

The press conference, held in Kuala Lumpur with the Singapore side joining virtually, is also open to the public to attend remotely. We're also planning to livestream it on TJC's YouTube page, so keep an eye out for it!

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Singapore's crackdown against vaping continues apace. It gets a mention in the Ministry of Home Affairs's addendum to the President's Address. Among the latest pronouncements is that public entertainment outlets—like bars, clubs, and KTV lounges—might lose their licences if their staff or patrons are caught with Kpods. What this essentially means is that owners and staff of these outlets now have to also double up as the vape police; even though this warning refers specifically to Kpods, there's no way for these outlets to distinguish between a Kpod and an ordinary nicotine vape, so all they can do is clamp down on all vapes. This places a huge burden on the outlet—particularly at a time when Singapore's nightlife is already suffering.

I've already written about our new war on vapes and Kpods, so I won't repeat myself and just direct you to this previous issue:

26 July 2025: Kpods, vapes, moral panic and punishment

Ruminating on the recent deluge of media coverage about Kpods and vapes.

We, The CitizensKirsten Han

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The trial of Mossammad Sobikun Nahar, Siti Amirah Mohamed Asrori, and Annamalai Kokila Parvathi has finally come to an end. Frankly, it's ludicrous it's taken this much time—as I've said before, the amount of resources spent on investigating and prosecuting them has far outstripped any harm or disruption (that is, zero) their involvement in a collective letter delivery in solidarity with Palestine has caused.

On the final day of the trial, the defence argued that the letter delivery does not constitute a public procession, and that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court will return with its verdict on 21 October.

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