Singapore prison officials hanged Arunprakash Vaithilingam,...

Singapore prison officials hanged Arunprakash Vaithilingam, 25, an Indian immigrant worker, for the murder of a flat mate on 22 December 2001. A statement from the Singapore Police Force said Vaithilingam "was hanged at Changi Prison this morning at 6 am (2200 GMT) for the murder of his colleague (and) flat-mate, Lourdusamy Lenin Salvanayagan." Vaithilingam from Tiruvarur in India's southern Tamil Nadu state, stabbed Salvanayagan, also from Tamil Nadu, with a knife during an argument, the police statement said. The victim was taken to a hospital where he died the next day. Vaithilingam was arrested at a checkpoint on 18 March 2002 and was charged with murder. He was found guilty on 9 December 2002 after a five-day trial and was sentenced to death. His appeal against the conviction was dismissed in February, the statement said. Civil rights groups in India and Vaithilingam's parents had earlier petitioned Singapore President S.R. Nathan to grant clemency. The parents had argued that Vaithlingam had attacked his friend in a sudden fit of anger and there was no intention to kill. "In fact, after stabbing Lenin, Arun had taken him to a nearby hospital with his friends," his father said in a petition to Nathan. Amnesty International had also pleaded with the Singapore government to reconsider the death sentence. A delegation of the Indian rights group People's Union for Civil Liberties met Singapore Consul Koh Siew Mui in Madras two days before the execution and handed a petition appealing to the Singaporean government to commute the death sentence.