Mathavakannan s/o Kalimuthu | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 May 1978 |
| Other names | K. Mathavakannan |
| Criminal status | Released since 28 January 2012 |
| Conviction(s) | Murder (1 count) |
| Criminal penalty |
|
| Accomplice(s) |
|
| Details | |
| Victims | 1 dead (Saravanan Michael Ramalingam) |
| Date | 26 May 1996 |
| Country | Singapore |
Date apprehended | 4 July 1996 |
Mathavakannan Kalimuthu[a] (Tamil language: மாதவக்கண்ணன் காளிமுத்து; born 10 May 1978) is a Singaporean who, together with his two friends, assaulted and murdered a gangster named Saravanan Michael Ramalingam on 26 May 1996. Mathavakannan, who was arrested on 4 July 1996, was tried and convicted of murder by the High Court of Singapore. As murder was a hanging offence in Singapore and since he was 16 days past his 18th birthday when he committed murder, Mathavakannan was sentenced to suffer the mandatory sentence of death on 27 November of the same year he killed Saravanan. Mathavakannan's two accomplices were also found guilty and sentenced to death in the same trial.
Despite losing his appeal on 14 October 1997, Mathavakannan was granted clemency by then President of Singapore Ong Teng Cheong, who commuted his sentence to life imprisonment on 28 April 1998 while his two friends were eventually executed on 29 May 1998 after they failed to obtain clemency from the President.[clarification needed] Mathavakannan served a total of 16 years in prison (inclusive of the period he spent in remand and on death row) before he was released on 28 January 2012.
His case had attracted media attention once again on 28 November 2011 when he filed an appeal regarding the issue of his life sentence, whether it should be 20 years' imprisonment (the old definition) or imprisonment for the rest of his natural life (the new definition) in accordance with a landmark appeal by Abdul Nasir bin Amer Hamsah on 20 August 1997, which changed the definition of life imprisonment under the law. The High Court then allowed Mathavakannan's appeal, and he became a free man soon after and has led a low-profile life since his release.
As of 2024, Mathavakannan Kalimuthu continues to be known as the sixth and last death row inmate to have received clemency from the President of Singapore. There have been no further cases where a death row inmate received clemency in Singapore since then (1998). The rarity of any President in Singapore pardoning a death row inmate from execution in Singapore was another factor that made Mathavakannan's case notable in the city-state and beyond its borders.[1]
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