Hoo Yew Wah has been on death row at Bentong prison in Malaysia since 2011. In March 2005, at the age of 20, he was found in possession of 188.35 grams of methamphetamine, automatically presumed to be trafficking drugs and later convicted of trafficking under section 39(b) of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1952.
He was sentenced to the mandatory death penalty on 12 May 2011 and his appeals were later rejected.
His April 2014 petition for a pardon to the Sultan of Johor State, where the offence took place, remains pending.
He turned 33 years old in 2018 and said he repented of his offence.