Indian woman to be hanged in Singapore

Indian woman to be hanged in Singapore
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

SINGAPORE, FEB 4: An Indian Muslim woman convicted for the murder of her husband is to be hanged in Singapore, after her appeal for presidential clemency was denied, her lawyer said today.

Julaiha Begum, 52, was found guilty by the High Court in March of the murder in April 1999 of her husband, retired police officer T Maniam. Begum’s lawyer, R Palakrishnan, confirmed to AFP that Begum’s appeal for presidential clemency had been rejected, but said he has not been informed of the date of the execution.

Murder is punishable by death penalty in Singapore, which carries out executions at dawn on Fridays.

Palakrishnan said he did not know if Begum, who was born in Singapore but raised in India, would be the first Muslim woman to be hanged in the island-republic.

The court heard that Begum hired men who beat her husband to death with wooden poles at their home in Singapore.

The court also heard testimony quoting her as saying she was “happy” over the death of her husband because she would inherit his house worth 1.15 million Singapore dollars (660,000 US dollars), according to newspaper account of the trial.

Begum divorced her first husband - an Indian Muslim businessman - in June 1981, with whom she had four children, the reports said.

She later met T Maniam who was then married. The police inspector divorced his wife and married begum.