Kalwant Singh (drug trafficker)

Kalwant Singh a/l Jogindar Singh (21 October 1990 – 7 July 2022) was a Malaysian drug trafficker who was found guilty of having 60.15g of diamorphine (heroin) in his possession and trafficking 120.90g of the same substance.

Born on 21 October 1990, Kalwant Singh a/l Jogindar Singh was a native of Cameron Highlands, Malaysia.

He had an elder sister Sonia, who was nine years his senior.

His father was a farm worker and later became a taxi driver, and he died from cancer in May 2021.

Kalwant's mother died from unknown causes when Kalwant was twelve.

Kalwant and his sister often helped their father to do farm work during their childhood.

With reference to the 1994 appeal ruling of Chin Seow Noi v Public Prosecutor, the Court of Appeal upheld that the co-accused's testimony can be used as evidence to determine a person's guilt under the law while they rejected the appeals, though they emphasised on the need for caution to use the co-accused's testimony to determine a person's guilt due to the accompanying risk of false incrimination by the co-accused, and the conviction of a person on such grounds should be done with satisfaction that the person is guilty after considering every factor and incentive of the case.

Subsequently, Kalwant's death sentence was upheld by the courts despite his appeal.

Kalwant's family welcomed the birth of Sonia's first and only child, a daughter named Kellvina in 2001.

Kalwant formed a close relationship with his niece, whom he took care of since young as her mother went to Kuala Lumpur to work.

He was also close to his cousin Sukhjeet, and they both were fans of soccer team Manchester United.

Kalwant left school at age 17, and started working odd jobs as a waiter, a courier, a tour guide, and a truck driver.

In 2011, Kalwant settled in Johor Bahru and he began to commute daily to Singapore, where he found a job as a mortuary worker at a local hospital.

Kalwant along with another man named Mohamad Yazid Md Yusof were arrested on 23 October 2013, and the alleged mastermind Norasharee Gous was captured two years later in July 2015, and all three of them were charged with drug trafficking.

It was alleged that Norasharee had told Yazid to help import the diamorphine after meeting up with Kalwant, who was to carry the drugs in Singapore to pass on to Yazid for the purpose of trafficking.

Kalwant, however, denied that he had knowledge of the drugs and alleged that he was given death threats that forced him to help do the job without knowing it was drugs.

He also met his girlfriend during his time in Singapore, but it was unknown what happened to her after Kalwant's arrest for drug trafficking in 2013.

On 24 October 2013, 23-year-old Kalwant and a 35-year-old Singaporean named Mohamad Yazid Bin Md Yusof were arrested at a multi-storey carpark at Woodlands Drive.

The police officers from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) searched Yazid’s motorcycle and found six bundles wrapped with black tape, and these bundles contained not less than 120.90g of diamorphine.

Another three bundles containing around 60g of drugs were also found in Kalwant's possession after his arrest.

Both Yazid and Kalwant were thus charged for drug trafficking.

After his arrest, Yazid confessed during interrogation that on the instructions of his boss, known to him as "Boy Ayie", he was told to receive packages of diamorphine from Kalwant for the purpose of trafficking.

However, Kalwant denied having knowledge of the diamorphine in his possession and claimed he was asked by his female boss through death threats to import the drugs, which he thought were not illegal narcotics.

Kalwant also claimed that Yazid's testimony was untruthful since he concocted his statements to make himself able to positively get the chance to be certified as a courier.

Still, the evidence showed that prior to passing Yazid the drugs, Kalwant had previous conversations with Yazid, in which he told Yazid about the drugs in the bundle, meaning he did have knowledge of the diamorphine he delivered.

There were also traces of Kalwant's DNA on the packages (both on the inner and outer layers of the plastic), indicating that Kalwant had not only touched the packages but also re-packed the drugs.

In July 2015, a year and nine months after the capture of Yazid and Kalwant, Yazid's boss "Boy Ayie", whose real name was Norasharee Gous, was arrested by the police, which therefore led to the completion of the overall investigations in the case of both Yazid and Kalwant.

Norasharee denied being Yazid's boss and claimed he had an alibi on that day he allegedly ordered Yazid to collect the drugs from Kalwant, and insisted he was innocent.

On 1 June 2016, Kalwant was found guilty of possessing drugs and drug trafficking.

He was thus sentenced to death since his role was not limited to that of a mere drug courier.

His co-accused Norasharee was also sentenced to death while Yazid escaped the gallows after receiving a life sentence and caning on behalf that he was a courier and played the smallest role out of the three.

Kalwant lost his appeals against his sentence, and after having spent nine years in prison (including six on death row), Kalwant was executed by hanging on 7 July 2022, the same date as Norasharee, who similarly failed to overturn his death sentence despite exhausting his appeals.

On 1 June 2016, the High Court, which heard the three men's cases in a joint trial a year later, rejected Norasharee's alibi defence and found him guilty of instigation and abetment of drug trafficking due to sufficient evidence and Yazid's testimony (which the court deemed truthful) against him.

Kalwant's account was not accepted by the High Court and he was also convicted of drug trafficking.

Since both Norasharee and Kalwant were not considered and certified as couriers due to their significant roles in the drug case, they were both sentenced to death.

On the other hand, Yazid, who was acknowledged as a courier, received a certificate of substantive assistance and was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane for his crime.

Norasharee and Kalwant both appealed against their sentences.

During the time Kalwant was incarcerated on death row at Singapore's Changi Prison, there were five other Malaysians, including Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, who were executed for drug trafficking since 2016.

Kalwant and eight more Malaysian drug convicts (including Datchinamurthy Kataiah and Pannir Selvam Pranthaman) were also set to be hanged at the gallows.

While the Court of Appeal granted Kalwant's request to adduce further evidence to support his case in midst of dismissing his appeal, they agreed with the High Court's findings in Norasharee's case and thus rejected his appeal on 10 March 2017.