A woman holds placard while taking part in a vigil ahead of the planned execution of Malaysian drug trafficker in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Tuesday. Reuters

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, 34, had been on death row for over a decade after he was convicted of trafficking about 43 grams (1.5 oz) of heroin into Singapore. The city-state's government has said its use of the death penalty for drug crimes is made clear at the borders.

READ MORE

Myanmar's Suu Kyi handed five-year jail term for corruption

11 die when truck hits power line at Hindu festival in India

Nagaenthran’s family and social activists confirmed the execution on Wednesday.

"On this score may I declare that Malaysia is far more humane,” his sister Sarmila Dharmalingam said. "Zero to Singapore on this.”

Nagaenthran’s supporters and lawyers said he had an IQ of 69 and was intellectually disabled, and that the execution of a mentally ill person was prohibited under international human rights law.

Singapore's courts ruled, citing psychiatrists' testimony in court, that he was not mentally disabled and had understood his actions at the time of his crime.

Associated Press