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Eleventh-hour stay of execution for man sentenced to hang

SINGAPORE — A day before he was to be hanged, Sarawakian Jabing Kho was given a temporary reprieve after the Court of Appeal today (Nov 5) granted a stay of execution to give his lawyer more time to prepare his case.

Sarawakian Kho Jabing receives a stay of execution less than 24 hours before he is scheduled to be hung in Singapore. Photo: courtesy of Singaporean police

Sarawakian Kho Jabing receives a stay of execution less than 24 hours before he is scheduled to be hung in Singapore. Photo: courtesy of Singaporean police

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SINGAPORE — A day before he was to be hanged, Sarawakian Jabing Kho was given a temporary reprieve after the Court of Appeal today (Nov 5) granted a stay of execution to give his lawyer more time to prepare his case. 

Kho’s newly appointed lawyer Chandra Mohan K Nair had filed a criminal motion yesterday to reduce his sentence, after being briefed by Kho’s family the night before. 

While this does not mean the five-judge Court of Appeal is inclined to lift his death sentence, the apex court is prepared to listen to his case again. Mr Mohan has asked for three weeks to prepare his case, but the next hearing date has not been set. 

The lawyer told TODAY he plans to revisit questions about how the injuries were inflicted, among other things. 

“What I’m trying to tell the court is to give us a second chance to go back to the hearing to go through all those all over again before the trial judge,” he said. 

Mr Mohan said the trial, which occurred before amendments to the law giving judges sentencing discretion in some murder cases took effect in 2013, did not delve into details of the evidence, such as the severity of the injuries and how much force was used to inflict the injuries. Prior to the changes, the death penalty was imposed if the accused is found guilty of causing injury that is likely to cause death, he said. The prosecution yesterday objected to the stay of execution, saying the criminal motion did not raise any arguable issues.

Kho and fellow Sarawakian Galing Anak Kujat had attacked construction worker Cao Ruyin and his Chinese compatriot Wu Jun near Geylang Drive while trying to rob them on Feb 17, 2008. Kho struck Cao’s head with a tree branch so hard that his accomplice saw the victim’s head crack open. Cao suffered 14 skull fractures and died six days later.

In 2010, Kho and Galing received the mandatory death sentence. But on appeal the following year, Galing was convicted of robbery with hurt and sentenced to 18 years and six months’ jail with 19 strokes of the cane. Kho failed in his appeal. 

When amendments to the law kicked in, Kho was re-sentenced to life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane, only to have the prosecution appeal and argue that Kho had shown “scant regard for human life”. 

In January, the five-judge Court of Appeal sentenced Kho, 31, to death in a 3-2 split decision.
 
The judges agreed that the punishment of death would be appropriate when the offender had committed murder in a manner that clearly demonstrated a blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life.

In Kho’s case, the majority — comprising Judges of Appeal Chao Hick Tin and Andrew Phang as well as Justice Chan Seng Onn — concluded that the “sheer savagery and brutality displayed by (Kho) shows that during the course of the attack, (he) just simply could not care less as to whether the deceased would survive although his intention at the time was only to rob”.

Kho’s appeal for clemency was turned down by President Tony Tan Keng Yam last month, on the Cabinet’s advice. 

His case has caught the attention of groups such as Amnesty International and We Believe in Second Chances. Ms Kirsten Han, co-founder of We Believe in Second Chances, expressed relief at the apex court’s decision to grant a stay of execution, but was aware that this is not “clemency” for Kho.  

“For us, as an anti-death penalty group, there is more work to be done to help the family and help Jabing,” she said. Her group will help ensure Kho’s sister and mother have accommodation while in Singapore, among other things. 

It will also continue to highlight Kho’s story, and Ms Han hopes more people will start to think about his case and capital punishment in Singapore. 

Ms Han said that while Kho’s family knows there is a chance the motion will not succeed, they are happy that Kho will not be hanged today.

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