Pregnant Thai Woman Detained For Smuggling Cocaine

[FatherF]

What I said was, the baby's first birthday would NOT be such a joyous occasion.

But, does anybody know exactly what the law is on the issue of pregnancy and the death penalty in Malaysia?

From what I have read, the death penalty cannot be given to a pregnant woman, the sentance is "Life" in prison, this may amount to the same thing in a Malaysian gaol, however, if there is a prisoner repatriation treaty between the relevant countries, this woman may, if found guilty, serve her sentence in her country of origin.

FF

[ballpoint]

... He said police believe the woman was acting as a courier for an international drug ring, adding that the suspect would be charged with drug trafficking, which carries a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

This whole business smells to the core, an affliction unfortunately all too common in drug arrest cases in this part of the world. The woman is suspected of being a pawn, working for a drug ring. She is to (probably) be executed, and Mr Big lives to play another piece. Sounds rather like the routine for the infamous war on drugs played out in Thailand. Kill the small timers, leave the real players alone to carry on, and take the credit for dealing with the drugs "problem". A couple of questions spring to mind:

Who tipped the police off? Dozens of buses cross the border every day, the police aren't opening every bag and breaking open every picture frame. She had already got through the trickiest part - that of successfully bringing the cocaine into Malaysia in the first place, so why was she targetted when leaving the country? Was the pawn sacrificed by Mr Big in order to bring the rook into Thailand untouched?

Why grab a small timer when she could have been followed in an attempt to see who the coke was handed to? Don't the Malaysian and Thai police cooperate on these matters? Don't they trust each other? Don't they want the ringleaders caught? I'd say "no" wouldn't be a bad guess at an answer to these. In fact, knowing the Malaysian police, they wanted to get their hands on the consignment and it's now probably being snorted by bigwigs in KL. No wonder they can't smell the stench this case leaves behind.

[hazz]

Has anyone else noticed that drug smuggling only attracts a death sentence in countries whose police/gov are far too lazy to do the only thing that really has a chance of working..... A high detection rate. A death sentence with a low detection rate is pointless.

When you have the right sentence and a high detection rate, then the cartels loose money when they add up the cost of lost drugs and the higher payments they need to make to smugglers. This more or less stopped cocaine coming in to the uk from Jamaica; and without the need to execute anyone.

As for working out the drugs were in the window frame, nothing suspicious there. there's a whole industry mass producing products with extremely well hidden cocaine. when one lot of customs stumble the latest fashion in cocaine smuggling they tend to share the info. so they know what to look for, no need for an informer.

Edited September 9, 2009 by hazz

[bobjenssen]

She was probably thinking, that she could do this and get money for the baby...ce la vie..you dance with the devil, you have to pay the piper!

Oz

Many, by far the vast majority " dance with the devil" and never suffer any negitve consequence.

I have just been corrected for saying 1% , by someone who suggested 0.1% is far more accurate.

He is, I hate to say, correct.

Why, and I am not trying to be rude here, do people think this? Is it from school ?.Do wrong- and be punished sort of thing.

the only people who pay the piper are those I'm guess like you who may honestly, but incorrectly think that one will automatic go to jail

if ones commits a crime. There is no " have" other than, guess who have to work harder and foot the bill?

This thinking is absurd, ludicrous .

There are no absolutes, can we just move past this silly notion and look at what really seems to be going on here.

[bobjenssen]

Wow great news - so instead of being executed, she will spend the rest of her life locked up, seperated from her child.

I am sure we will all sleep better knowing a 22 year old pregnant girl is safely locked behind bars - a joke and a very sad one at that.

At least I will sleep better then when I had to think about how many life's she would have f_cked up with that 2 kg cocaine.

How many drug users you know that were forced to take them ???

Same applies to alcohol etc - 99% + of people who use do so from their own free will - to lock up someone who is a simple mule makes no sense and is totally ineffective in reducing drug use.

Forced to take them? None.

An effective way to reduce drug use is legalizing and taxing soft street drugs and free drugs and state controlled programs for hardcore users.

Other ways on the "war of drugs" not work out for SURE and the drug lords still making huge amounts cash.

YES< YES< YES

[bobjenssen]

Wow great news - so instead of being executed, she will spend the rest of her life locked up, seperated from her child.

I am sure we will all sleep better knowing a 22 year old pregnant girl is safely locked behind bars - a joke and a very sad one at that.

At least I will sleep better then when I had to think about how many life's she would have f_cked up with that 2 kg cocaine.

How many drug users you know that were forced to take them ???

Same applies to alcohol etc - 99% + of people who use do so from their own free will - to lock up someone who is a simple mule makes no sense and is totally ineffective in reducing drug use.

More YES, YES, YES

What is going on here? I feel like I am looking at another site, thanks !It is refreshing to know people think like this

[ballpoint]

Has anyone else noticed that drug smuggling only attracts a death sentence in countries whose police/gov are far too lazy to do the only thing that really has a chance of working..... A high detection rate. A death sentence with a low detection rate is pointless.

When you have the right sentence and a high detection rate, then the cartels loose money when they add up the cost of lost drugs and the higher payments they need to make to smugglers. This more or less stopped cocaine coming in to the uk from Jamaica; and without the need to execute anyone.

As for working out the drugs were in the window frame, nothing suspicious there. there's a whole industry mass producing products with extremely well hidden cocaine. when one lot of customs stumble the latest fashion in cocaine smuggling they tend to share the info. so they know what to look for, no need for an informer.

How many of the "detections" in Thailand and Malaysia are due to tip offs? How many of these tip offs come from the very people who handed the drugs to the couriers? What happens to the seized drugs? Call me cynical, but I've spent a lot of time working with the Thai army in northern Thailand, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the same drugs are getting seized over and over again, while the real shipments move out unmolested. The difference in this case is the drugs were being brought into the country, however, the Malaysian police are every bit as corrupt as their Thai brethren and can play the game just as well.

And maybe picture frames are indeed this year's in thing amongst your fashionable mule. It still begs the question, why weren't they detected when they were brought into Malaysia, and why, out of all the bus passengers travelling between Thailand and Malaysia, were her bags singled out? Of course, they may have been detected when she entered the country, she was followed to see where they were to be delivered, and grabbed when it looked like she was taking them to Thailand, but the cynic in me doesn't believe this either. Again, if the Malaysian authorities were serious about stopping drugs from passing through the country they'd be interested in finding out the ring leaders. Which would have involved bringing the Thai police into it and giving up the coke to them.

[roamer]

What I said was, the baby's first birthday would NOT be such a joyous occasion.

But, does anybody know exactly what the law is on the issue of pregnancy and the death penalty in Malaysia?

Unlikely to be relevant I would have thought as she would most likely have had the baby by the time she stands trial.

[tb86]

Strange, EVERYONE i spoke with who took it said it was one of their best moments in their whole lifes and now you say it f_ucks up lifes.

I´m confused now they all lie?

im gonna go out on a limb and say that the people that live under narcoterrorism rule ie. colombia, bolivia, peru ect would hardly agree with you that it is a harmless thing. Unless you consider the kidnappings, assinations, bombings, murders, tens if not hundreds of thousands of families destroyed in south america that directly relate to this product as something that they find amusing...i feel no pity for those stupid enough to allow themselves to be used as mules. We all have the option to choose our paths, some just let greed make the decision for them. This unfortunate incident has created a child as the real victim, whom will now have its life forever changed.. I bet the kid would have been much happier poor and with a mother than not.

Those people are under that duress for the reason that the drugs are illegal, not because the drugs are dangerous.

If the drugs was legal there wouldn't be the same issue with drug-barons and drug-wars, right?

I hate to break it to you, but yeah drugs are kind of dangerous, im no angel so dont take this as preaching, i grew up between west hollwood w <mom> and alphabet city in manhattan <dad> in the 80's and 90's, you have not apparently been exposed to what cocaine and cocaine byproducts have done to the communities its in nothing to do with the illegal part, junkies around isnt good for anyone that much i promise you. so yeah there pretty dangerous.... ever seen a crack baby, i have. Making such comments shows how little you have been exposed to the things you speak of.....

[dale8]

Hello, this is a sad story as the risk she took was too much. We do not know if she was under duress in any way, and the manufacturer and financier got away free once again. This is very sad for the child, and the father of the child should try to get custody as prison is no place for a child.

[DLock]

There will always be someone greedy and stupid enough to roll the dice...

The armchair conspiracy theorists can spout all day long about lazy Governments, "if they really wanted", kingpins, tip-offs, making drugs legal and the same drugs re-circulating, in some sort of attempt to make her appear somehow less guilty.

Fact is, regardless of how or why she was caught in the manner she was, she was caught, and she is going to hang...after handing over her baby for the last time.

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

[bobbin]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Not going to happen. If this approach worked, it would have by now, forty years after the "War on Drugs" was announced.

[DLock]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Not going to happen. If this approach worked, it would have by now, forty years after the "War on Drugs" was announced.

It works.

When were you last a drug mule?....oh...and why is that?

I would support even harsher and swifter penalties for drug mules. I have zero sympathy.

Even though this idiot was caught with cocaine, look what the results of a drug like Meth can do... faces of meth

[TAWP]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Not going to happen. If this approach worked, it would have by now, forty years after the "War on Drugs" was announced.

It works.

When were you last a drug mule?....oh...and why is that?

I would support even harsher and swifter penalties for drug mules. I have zero sympathy.

Even though this idiot was caught with cocaine, look what the results of a drug like Meth can do... faces of meth

That is false logic if nothing else.

The fact of the matter is that if it wasn't illegal and no drug war was needed, NO-ONE would be a mule.

And no-one would be a criminal.

Better, eh?

[DLock]

It's actually correct logic. You aren't a drug mule because it is illegal. Yes?

Your argument is weak, irrelevant and misses the point completely.

Drugs are illegal. If you decide to be a drug mule and get caught, expect some pretty severe rope burn and little sympathy.

[harleyclarkey]

She possibly relied on the fact that she was pregnant as she knew this could get her off the death sentence.

Where was it recently where a woman on death row got pregnant while in prison and sentence commuted??? Far East somewhere??

Could only happen to a woman.

[TAWP]

It's actually correct logic. You aren't a drug mule because it is illegal. Yes?

Your argument is weak, irrelevant and misses the point completely.

Drugs are illegal. If you decide to be a drug mule and get caught, expect some pretty severe rope burn and little sympathy.

Your logic is weak since your argument is that since I haven't been a drug-mule than the War on Drugs (i.e. not even the legislation itself that declared the trafficking illegal) should be deemed successful.

If that is the bar you set to measure success, then I humbly suggest you to up your aim a little.

Edited September 10, 2009 by TAWP

[webfact]

She possibly relied on the fact that she was pregnant as she knew this could get her off the death sentence.

Where was it recently where a woman on death row got pregnant while in prison and sentence commuted??? Far East somewhere??

Could only happen to a woman.

in Laos

[tb86]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Not going to happen. If this approach worked, it would have by now, forty years after the "War on Drugs" was announced.

It works.

When were you last a drug mule?....oh...and why is that?

I would support even harsher and swifter penalties for drug mules. I have zero sympathy.

Even though this idiot was caught with cocaine, look what the results of a drug like Meth can do... faces of meth

That is false logic if nothing else.

The fact of the matter is that if it wasn't illegal and no drug war was needed, NO-ONE would be a mule.

And no-one would be a criminal.

Better, eh?

You are convienently leaving out your earlier comment that coca products are not dangerous. You are either the biggest fool on this website or possibly the least informed.. Lets hear your theory on how hard drugs would make a positive impact on society as a whole if they were legal... other than junkies, crack babies, overdoses, dependency related crimes ie. robberies, murders ect.. Or the wider social ramifications like disease, homlessness, mental illness the list can go on and on. Really i would love to hear your opinions on these matters... Its pretty easy to make claims especialy if you have never been exposed to the destructive force of them, let alone lost people you loved to drugs.

Its a dam_n shame about this girl, but she alone chose her path. Fine she didnt finance the deal but she knowingly became a part of the plan, she was most likley a sacaraficial lamb set up by her employer or maybe not, but a single female traveling a well known drug trafficking route dosent take a genious to figure out either.

[jackspratt]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Clearly the Thai woman sentenced to death a couple of weeks ago in Malaysia for 4kg of mull has had a huge deterrent effect on other potential mules.

The message has been really effective, hasn't it. And there has no doubt been a huge fall in the availability of drugs all over Malaysia.

Your argument lacks both coherence and sense.

[tb86]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Clearly the Thai woman sentenced to death a couple of weeks ago in Malaysia for 4kg of mull has had a huge deterrent effect on other potential mules.

The message has been really effective, hasn't it. And there has no doubt been a huge fall in the availability of drugs all over Malaysia.

Your argument lacks both coherence and sense.

what would you suggest then, as a realistic solution, mind you legalization may pass in some places but will never be legalized in other, so the need for mules will never go away, unless you think you can convince the saudis, malays, singaporeans to change their minds the west ok, maybe. the big boys will always be around, and stupid people will do their bidding.. Lend us some of your sense please

[harleyclarkey]

She possibly relied on the fact that she was pregnant as she knew this could get her off the death sentence.

Where was it recently where a woman on death row got pregnant while in prison and sentence commuted??? Far East somewhere??

Could only happen to a woman.

in Laos

Thanks web.....is her name Mary by any chance??

Kind of an immaculate conception.??

[harleyclarkey]

Clearly the Thai woman sentenced to death a couple of weeks ago in Malaysia for 4kg of mull has had a huge deterrent effect on other potential mules.

I reckon so.

Can you guess at the numbers who would be willing to try their hand as a mule if the sentence was...just say....10 years in jail?

No... for sure many many others won't try their hand at this product of death and destruction for the very fear of being executed.

[Bluelotus]

... He said police believe the woman was acting as a courier for an international drug ring, adding that the suspect would be charged with drug trafficking, which carries a mandatory death sentence if convicted.

This whole business smells to the core, an affliction unfortunately all too common in drug arrest cases in this part of the world. The woman is suspected of being a pawn, working for a drug ring. She is to (probably) be executed, and Mr Big lives to play another piece. Sounds rather like the routine for the infamous war on drugs played out in Thailand. Kill the small timers, leave the real players alone to carry on, and take the credit for dealing with the drugs "problem". A couple of questions spring to mind:

Who tipped the police off? Dozens of buses cross the border every day, the police aren't opening every bag and breaking open every picture frame. She had already got through the trickiest part - that of successfully bringing the cocaine into Malaysia in the first place, so why was she targetted when leaving the country? Was the pawn sacrificed by Mr Big in order to bring the rook into Thailand untouched?

Why grab a small timer when she could have been followed in an attempt to see who the coke was handed to? Don't the Malaysian and Thai police cooperate on these matters? Don't they trust each other? Don't they want the ringleaders caught? I'd say "no" wouldn't be a bad guess at an answer to these. In fact, knowing the Malaysian police, they wanted to get their hands on the consignment and it's now probably being snorted by bigwigs in KL. No wonder they can't smell the stench this case leaves behind.

Well said . to the top with this post

[DLock]

It's actually correct logic. You aren't a drug mule because it is illegal. Yes?

Your argument is weak, irrelevant and misses the point completely.

Drugs are illegal. If you decide to be a drug mule and get caught, expect some pretty severe rope burn and little sympathy.

Your logic is weak since your argument is that since I haven't been a drug-mule than the War on Drugs (i.e. not even the legislation itself that declared the trafficking illegal) should be deemed successful.

If that is the bar you set to measure success, then I humbly suggest you to up your aim a little.

I am actually unsure of what your point is.

My point is clear. Drugs are illegal. Mules that get caught deserve to be put to death, and that is a deterrent to others.

You cant get any more severe than killing someone who gets caught. If that doesn't deter someone, then I don't see a softening of the approach providing more of a deterrent, or legalising hard drugs as a solution to pregnant women muling drugs...

What is your point again?

[DLock]

If that's what it takes to send a message to all the idiots and reduce the drugs on the streets, then so be it.

Clearly the Thai woman sentenced to death a couple of weeks ago in Malaysia for 4kg of mull has had a huge deterrent effect on other potential mules.

The message has been really effective, hasn't it. And there has no doubt been a huge fall in the availability of drugs all over Malaysia.

Your argument lacks both coherence and sense.

Oh my, another clearly and well thought through argument.

Where does your argument go from here?

Killing people does act as a deterrent to the majority of people. In my sample size of one (me), if I knew I could make a few million dollars from couriering drugs and the penalty was worth it, I'd do it. But the risk of being put to death makes me not do it.

There isn't much more you can do to someone than kill them, but unfortunately, this world is full of stupid people. People who will take the risk regardless of even the penalty of death. Some make it through and breed an urban myth of instant riches with one plane ride. The uneducated, desperate, greedy and stupid provide a never ending stream of Lemmings for the Big Fish - some of which are given as token drug busts for grinning police captains to help his promotion and elevate his success on the "War on Drugs" and provide a distraction for others to slip through. Stupid isn't limited to one race or region. Stupid is worldwide. Jails worldwide are full of stupid people that tried and failed. Just by letting them live reduces the deterrent. Malaysia and Singapore have it right, but stupid has no bounds.

If your binary logic is making the connection that killing people is not making a difference to the supply of drugs, then your solution should be entertaining.

[TAWP]

You are convienently leaving out your earlier comment that coca products are not dangerous. You are either the biggest fool on this website or possibly the least informed.. Lets hear your theory on how hard drugs would make a positive impact on society as a whole if they were legal... other than junkies, crack babies, overdoses, dependency related crimes ie. robberies, murders ect.. Or the wider social ramifications like disease, homlessness, mental illness the list can go on and on. Really i would love to hear your opinions on these matters... Its pretty easy to make claims especialy if you have never been exposed to the destructive force of them, let alone lost people you loved to drugs.

Its a dam_n shame about this girl, but she alone chose her path. Fine she didnt finance the deal but she knowingly became a part of the plan, she was most likley a sacaraficial lamb set up by her employer or maybe not, but a single female traveling a well known drug trafficking route dosent take a genious to figure out either.

Perhaps you should brush up on your reading skills and notice I have never said such a thing.

[TAWP]

It's actually correct logic. You aren't a drug mule because it is illegal. Yes?

Your argument is weak, irrelevant and misses the point completely.

Drugs are illegal. If you decide to be a drug mule and get caught, expect some pretty severe rope burn and little sympathy.

Your logic is weak since your argument is that since I haven't been a drug-mule than the War on Drugs (i.e. not even the legislation itself that declared the trafficking illegal) should be deemed successful.

If that is the bar you set to measure success, then I humbly suggest you to up your aim a little.

I am actually unsure of what your point is.

My point is clear. Drugs are illegal. Mules that get caught deserve to be put to death, and that is a deterrent to others.

You cant get any more severe than killing someone who gets caught. If that doesn't deter someone, then I don't see a softening of the approach providing more of a deterrent, or legalising hard drugs as a solution to pregnant women muling drugs...

What is your point again?

That your argument that the War on Drugs is working is clearly false.

The mere point that people ARE willing to risk death for it is a sign of that. Not the other way around.

[tb86]

Strange, EVERYONE i spoke with who took it said it was one of their best moments in their whole lifes and now you say it f_ucks up lifes.

I´m confused now they all lie?

im gonna go out on a limb and say that the people that live under narcoterrorism rule ie. colombia, bolivia, peru ect would hardly agree with you that it is a harmless thing. Unless you consider the kidnappings, assinations, bombings, murders, tens if not hundreds of thousands of families destroyed in south america that directly relate to this product as something that they find amusing...i feel no pity for those stupid enough to allow themselves to be used as mules. We all have the option to choose our paths, some just let greed make the decision for them. This unfortunate incident has created a child as the real victim, whom will now have its life forever changed.. I bet the kid would have been much happier poor and with a mother than not.

Those people are under that duress for the reason that the drugs are illegal, not because the drugs are dangerous.

If the drugs was legal there wouldn't be the same issue with drug-barons and drug-wars, right?

aah, lets refresh your memory real quickly, and its a bit childish to even pretend that the whole leagalize it thing is ever going to occur on a world wide scale, no?

Edited September 11, 2009 by tb86

[edgarfriendly]

if plants werent illegal, IE in the hands of criminals, there could be no desire to 'smuggle' something which could be obtained legally.

unless it was taxed into a bracket out of ppls reach. ALA aids meds.

ef

MY point is, prohibition makes ppl rich. not safer. and certainly not smarter,