The News Journal

A Malaysian man convicted of drug trafficking has been executed in Singapore despite his mother's claims he had an intellectual disability. Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, 34, had been on death row for more than 10 years for trafficking 44 grams of heroin into Singapore, which has some of the world's toughest drugs laws. His lawyers had filed multiple appeals against his execution, saying he was intellectually disabled. His brother Navin Kumar, 22, told Reuters the execution had been carried out. He said the body would be sent back to Malaysia for a funeral in the town of Ipoh. A Singapore court on Tuesday turned down a legal challenge put forward by Nagaenthran's mother, clearing the way for the execution by hanging. At the end of the hearing, Nagaenthran and his family reached through a gap in a glass screen to grasp each others' hands tightly as they wept. His cries of "ma" could be heard around the courtroom, Reuters said. About 300 people held a candlelight vig...

 Standard Chartered plans to cut half of its existing office space in Singapore’s financial district in what is set to be the biggest floor reduction by a bank in the city-state in recent years. The London-based lender is giving up nine of the floors it leases at Marina Bay Financial Tower 1 in the business district. Bloomberg previously reported that the bank was considering slashing its office space by at least four floors. With the downsize, bankers may not have their own desks and may have to reserve their spots before coming to the office, sources said. The lender’s current lease expires in October this year. “With 80 per cent of our Singapore-based employees adopting flexible work arrangements, we are reinvesting in and refreshing our premises to create a more open, conducive and collaborative environment,” a Standard Chartered representative said. Singapore is a critical global centre for the bank and it retains a significant presence in buildings in the city, including Mari...