22 Facts About Gobi Avedian

Subsequently, Gobi Avedian filed for clemency, which was rejected in July 2019.

Gobi Avedian later made two different appeals: the first to delay his execution and the second to re-open his case.

In late 2014, Gobi Avedian's daughter suffered from a health issue and required an operation, which would take place in January 2015.

Gobi Avedian claimed that he asked Vinod if the drugs were dangerous, and he was assured by Vinod that these drugs were merely disco drugs mixed with chocolate, and are not dangerous, and Vinod added that the punishment, if caught with these drugs, would be a small fine or light punishment.

On 11 December 2014,26-year-old Gobi Avedian carried out his ninth or tenth attempt to deliver the drugs while on his way to work in Singapore.

Gobi Avedian would stand trial in the High Court three years later in 2017, with defence lawyer Shashi Nathan defending him in his trial.

However, the prosecution argued that Gobi Avedian was wilfully blind to the drugs' existence, and has failed to rebut the statutory presumption of knowledge of the nature of the drugs he was carrying.

However, a year later, the prosecution appealed against Gobi Avedian's acquittal, arguing that Gobi Avedian did not take enough steps to satisfy himself that the drugs he transported were not those that would attract the death penalty, such as probing the people who gave him assurances.

The court commented that while Gobi Avedian did ask about the possible penalties for the crime he was committing, the court said this would not have helped him identify the drug.

And, if Gobi Avedian really did not want to bring in any illegal drugs that could warrant a death sentence, he should have go and research what are the drugs that might attract such a harsh punishment and identify them but he did not do so.

Since Gobi Avedian was not certified to have assisted the Central Narcotics Bureau in a substantive way, and did not suffer from diminished responsibility, he was ineligible for the alternative penalty of life imprisonment.

Subsequently, after he was sentenced to death, Gobi Avedian filed for clemency, which would allow his sentence be commuted to life imprisonment if successful.

CJ Menon, who delivered the judgement, stated that the five judges determined that in contrast to the prosecution's arguments, Gobi Avedian was not wilfully blind to the nature of the drugs, and noted that Gobi Avedian did question the nature of the drugs but felt assured that they are not serious.

Gobi Avedian was the second drug convict on death row to be acquitted by the Court of Appeal in October 2020, after 38-year-old Penang-born Beh Chew Boo who was acquitted just six days prior to Gobi's acquittal.

Gobi Avedian's case was the first capital case in Singapore's legal history where a death sentence was revoked on a review by the Court of Appeal after exhausting all the usual avenue of appeals.

Gobi Avedian's sentence was backdated to the date of his remand in December 2014.

Gobi Avedian's lawyer told the press that with the possibility of parole for good behaviour after at least two-thirds of his sentence, Gobi would likely be released in 2024 after serving ten years out of his 15-year sentence.

Not only that, Ravi accused the prosecution in charge of the 2018 appeal for being "overzealous" in prosecuting Gobi Avedian and causing him to serve wrongful detention on death row.

Gobi Avedian was involved in another lawsuit, for which he became involved while he was still on death row before his acquittal.

The inmates, including Gobi Avedian, are ordered to pay $10 in costs for the lawsuit.

Ten years after his arrest, Gobi Avedian was released from Changi Prison on 17 December 2024.

Gobi Avedian was granted an early release by parole on account of his good behaviour in prison.