Execution date set for drug smuggler
Source: Agencies |
December 1, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A CHINESE court has upheld the drug trafficking conviction of a Filipino man and set his execution for next week.
The 35-year-old was arrested in September 2008 at Guilin International Airport in southwest China while trying to smuggle 1.5 kilograms of heroin into the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Malaysia, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Smuggling more than 50 grams of heroin or other drugs is punishable by death in China.
Philippine officials based in China were told on Monday that the Supreme People's Court in Beijing had upheld a lower court's decision to impose the death penalty on the Filipino man and that a December 8 execution date had been set, the department said.
The Philippine foreign office said the convicted man's family has been told of the Chinese court's decision. Arrangements were being made for family members to immediately leave for China to meet with the condemned man.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the Philippines respects China's judicial system and that the planned execution would not hurt bilateral relations.
"It was done in compliance with their legal processes - we respect that," Lacierda said in a news conference in Manila. "This should not cause a hiccup in Filipino-Chinese relations."
The condemned man's family members said they were devastated by the court's decision and asked Filipinos to pray for him. In a statement released by the foreign affairs department, they asked the media to respect their privacy.
"It is a very difficult time for us and we are trying our best, through prayers, to cope with the situation," the family said.
In March, China executed three Filipinos convicted of smuggling heroin. They were arrested in 2008 and sentenced in 2009.
The 35-year-old was arrested in September 2008 at Guilin International Airport in southwest China while trying to smuggle 1.5 kilograms of heroin into the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region from Malaysia, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Smuggling more than 50 grams of heroin or other drugs is punishable by death in China.
Philippine officials based in China were told on Monday that the Supreme People's Court in Beijing had upheld a lower court's decision to impose the death penalty on the Filipino man and that a December 8 execution date had been set, the department said.
The Philippine foreign office said the convicted man's family has been told of the Chinese court's decision. Arrangements were being made for family members to immediately leave for China to meet with the condemned man.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that the Philippines respects China's judicial system and that the planned execution would not hurt bilateral relations.
"It was done in compliance with their legal processes - we respect that," Lacierda said in a news conference in Manila. "This should not cause a hiccup in Filipino-Chinese relations."
The condemned man's family members said they were devastated by the court's decision and asked Filipinos to pray for him. In a statement released by the foreign affairs department, they asked the media to respect their privacy.
"It is a very difficult time for us and we are trying our best, through prayers, to cope with the situation," the family said.
In March, China executed three Filipinos convicted of smuggling heroin. They were arrested in 2008 and sentenced in 2009.
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