That changed in 2019, when M Ravi, who was then a Singaporean human rights lawyer, stepped in as a mentor and adviser, offering guidance even though he was never formally appointed to represent Pannir.
Pannir’s sister Angelia Pranthaman said Ravi, who died today at the age of 56, never gave up on them, even when his law licence was suspended for five years in 2023.
“He waited at the court, tried to find lawyers with valid licences, and stood by us even though my brother wasn’t officially his client,” she told FMT.
She described Ravi as a tireless advocate who dedicated his life to defending death row inmates. From 2019 until his death, the family remained in close contact with Ravi, often seeking his opinion on possible legal steps to take.
Angelia said few lawyers in Malaysia and Singapore had his depth of experience with death penalty cases.
“His counsel was always accurate and grounded in reality. Many times, it yielded results,” she said.
Ravi’s commitment
Media coverage in Malaysia and Singapore often focused on Ravi representing two Malaysian death row inmates in the island-state, but Angelia said his commitment went far beyond nationality or formal appointments.
“In truth, he was a lawyer for anyone facing the death penalty in Singapore,” she said.
She recalled his success in the 2020 case of Malaysian Gobi Avedian whose death sentence was commuted at the last minute.
That victory brought Ravi into the spotlight, though an interview he gave regarding Gobi later led to his law licence being suspended, complicating his ability to represent other inmates.
“He was willing to risk everything for someone he didn’t even know,” Angelia said. “That was Ravi. He would help, no matter the circumstances.”
Angelia said Ravi never sought payment, despite frequently travelling to Kuala Lumpur.
Last month, she said, she spoke to Ravi and he shared his experience of writing his book, The Kampung Boy, and also about a publication on Pannir’s death row experience published by the Faculty of Law at Oxford University.
“I never imagined that would be our last conversation,” said Angelia, adding that Ravi had also planned a film on the death penalty.
Ravi’s death this morning, just days before the New Year, had left a profound impact. “He was healthy,” Angelia said, adding that it was especially heartbreaking for their family to lose him now.
The cause of death has yet to be disclosed.
Singapore executed Pannir in October for smuggling 51.84g of diamorphine into the country in 2014. He was the second Malaysian to be put to death for a drug offence in the city-state in two weeks, after the execution of K Datchinamurthy, 39, on Sept 25.
Pannir was convicted on June 27, 2017 by the Singapore High Court of trafficking in 51.84g of diamorphine at the Woodlands checkpoint on Sept 3, 2014, and was given the mandatory death penalty.
His appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Feb 9, 2018, and his clemency petition to the Singapore president was rejected.