Twitterjaya Ponders Who Deserves Royal Pardon – Paralyzed Inmate Or Corrupt Politician

Hayat said the prison facilities are unable to provide the necessary care required by the transwoman inmate who is now paralysed.

Back in 2013, a transgender Thai drug mule was arrested at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang for trafficking 1.3 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Thanakorn Sinsanoi, now 33, was given the death sentence after which she filed an appeal that was later dismissed in 2017.

Today, anti-death penalty advocate Hayat launched a clemency petition for Thanakorn who has become paralysed while serving time at Pokok Sena prison, Kedah, for the drug trafficking conviction.

In its clemency petition, Hayat said the prison facilities are unable to provide the necessary care required by the transwoman inmate who is now paralysed from the neck down after contracting tuberculosis twice behind bars.

According to Hayat, the Thai citizen was found “in a soiled bed, with fresh wounds that were left unattended, as well as flies surrounding her prison treatment room”.

Thanakorn was being looked after by a fellow male inmate, Hayat said.

Since Malaysia does not recognise transgender identities, Thanakorn is serving her sentence in the men’s section of the prison, the group added.

Hayat also urged the public to petition the Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Shafaruddin Idris Shah, for his pardon.

This is because Thanakorn was arrested and convicted for an offense committed at KLIA in Sepang, which is located in Selangor and Sultan Shafaruddin is the chairman of the Selangor Pardon Board.

In a post on Instagram yesterday, Hayat shared an example of a letter that the public can send to Sultan Shafaruddin, Pokok Sena Prison, elected representatives, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“She had complications that left her paralysed from the neck down (quadriplegia).”

“Her doctor at the prison noted that she was unable to control her body from the waist down and only had limited hand control.”

“Due to her health condition, a colostomy bag was also installed on her body.”

“Currently, she is being held in the prison clinic area,” said the letter.

Netizen questions who should receive a royal pardon

A post on X (formerly Twitter) by Goh Cia Yee presented the public with a thought-provoking question: Who deserves a royal pardon more? Thanakorn or former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Thanakorn was posed as option 1 as a half-paralysed, misgendered individual with open wounds who was fed on by flies and exploited by the drug cartel.

Option 2 is Najib, a kleptocrat swindling billions whose “deeds” were only possible because his father was also a Prime Minister in the past.

Goh posted this to highlight the sharp contrast of the expedited hearing of the petition of clemency from the former Prime Minister, whose sentence term was reduced to half.

Goh then asks in the post “While the Federal Territory Pardons Board is different from the Selangor one, why is it that the pardon can be so easily granted to politicians?”.

The criminal lawyer continued in the post thread asking what danger would Thanakorn pose to society now, seeing as she is completely unable to move her legs and much of her arms.

Another concern Goh mentioned is that Thanakorn might die in prison without proper care, highlighting the abolishment of the death penalty and review of her sentence could very well appear as a farce in light of her deteriorating condition caused by poor handling of highly infectious diseases such as Tuberculosis.

He closed the thread by asking if the (Pardons) Board will only deliberate on matters that concern their own, the rich and ultra elite, or will they turn their attention on the poor, marginalised, exploited, and disabled for once.

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