3 convicted Japanese executed
By Wang Xiang |
April 10, 2010, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THREE convicted Japanese drug smugglers were executed in China yesterday morning, the Supreme People's Court announced, three days after another Japanese national was put to death for the same offense.
The trio, Teruo Takeda, Hironori Ukai and Katsuo Mori, were executed in Liaoning Province after being convicted in 2007 in separate drug smuggling cases.
Forty-eight year old Ukai was arrested in Dalian City with 1.5 kilograms of narcotics in September 2003, while 67-year old Mori was nabbed two months before that in Shenyang City when he tried to board a plane to Japan with 1.25 kg of drugs.
Takeda, 67, bought about 5 kg of methamphetamine in 2003 and hired another Japanese to take them to Japan, Xinhua news agency reported.
Their executions followed that of 65-year-old drug dealer Mitsunobu Akano on Tuesday.
Akano was reported the first Japanese criminal to be put to death in China since 1972, when the two countries established formal relations.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said the execution of Akano's was "regrettable" but hoped the move would not harm bilateral ties. Japan also has capital punishment, but drug smuggling can only be punished by up to life imprisonment.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswomna Jiang Yu said China handled the cases "in strict accordance with the law" and had informed the Japanese government of the planned death sentences.
In December, China executed Akmal Shaikh, a 53-year-old British man convicted of drug smuggling, the first European in about 60 years.
The Supreme People's Court has started reviewing every death penalty in 2007, withdrawing the lower courts' right to issue the final judgment.
Execution of foreigners on drug charges largely involved citizens from Southeast Asian or African countries.
A female drug smuggler, identified as Linden, from South Africa, was just sentenced to death on Thursday in Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court for smuggling 3 kg of drugs.
The trio, Teruo Takeda, Hironori Ukai and Katsuo Mori, were executed in Liaoning Province after being convicted in 2007 in separate drug smuggling cases.
Forty-eight year old Ukai was arrested in Dalian City with 1.5 kilograms of narcotics in September 2003, while 67-year old Mori was nabbed two months before that in Shenyang City when he tried to board a plane to Japan with 1.25 kg of drugs.
Takeda, 67, bought about 5 kg of methamphetamine in 2003 and hired another Japanese to take them to Japan, Xinhua news agency reported.
Their executions followed that of 65-year-old drug dealer Mitsunobu Akano on Tuesday.
Akano was reported the first Japanese criminal to be put to death in China since 1972, when the two countries established formal relations.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said the execution of Akano's was "regrettable" but hoped the move would not harm bilateral ties. Japan also has capital punishment, but drug smuggling can only be punished by up to life imprisonment.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswomna Jiang Yu said China handled the cases "in strict accordance with the law" and had informed the Japanese government of the planned death sentences.
In December, China executed Akmal Shaikh, a 53-year-old British man convicted of drug smuggling, the first European in about 60 years.
The Supreme People's Court has started reviewing every death penalty in 2007, withdrawing the lower courts' right to issue the final judgment.
Execution of foreigners on drug charges largely involved citizens from Southeast Asian or African countries.
A female drug smuggler, identified as Linden, from South Africa, was just sentenced to death on Thursday in Guangdong Provincial Higher People's Court for smuggling 3 kg of drugs.
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