Chinese authorities execute Filipino drug trafficker

[News_Editor]

Chinese authorities execute Filipino drug trafficker

2011-12-09 06:58:42 GMT+7 (ICT)

MANILA (BNO NEWS) -- Chinese authorities on Thursday afternoon executed a Filipino man after he was convicted of drug trafficking, the Philippine government confirmed. He is the fourth Filipino to be executed in China this year.

The 35-year-old man, whose name was withheld upon the request of his family and was instead given the pseudonym Pinoy 1, was given a lethal injection at around 12.30 p.m. local time in the province of Guangxi in southern China, according to the Philippine government.

Philippine Vice President Jejomar Binay said the execution took place several hours after Pinoy 1 met with his family and a priest following the reading of the verdict against him. Members of his family and Embassy officials were not allowed to witness the execution.

The defendant was arrested in 2008 at Guilin Liangjiang International Airport in southern China for carrying 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of heroin. Pinoy 1 had entered China from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur as a tourist. Both countries execute convicted drug traffickers.

In response to the execution, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda offered his condolences to the family of Pinoy 1 and reminded people to abide by immigration rules and avoid falling victim to criminal groups which recruit individuals to be drug mules.

Binay assured that the Philippine government will cover the expenses of Pinoy 1's family, including the transportation of the body back to the Philippines. He also said the family will leave China on Friday, but the body of the Filipino is expected to be flown home either Tuesday or Wednesday.

Earlier this week, Philippine President Benigno Aquino wrote a letter to his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, asking him commute the death sentence. Aquino also wrote letters to Hu in the past with similar requests, but none of them stopped the executions.

Philippine Senator Loren Legarda said the execution is not a political issue and should not affect the relations between the Philippines and China. "The [People's Republic of China] has stringent laws against drug trafficking and so do other countries, including the Philippines," the senator said, as quoted by local media. "China's enforcement of its laws is within its rights. We trust that the administration of its laws is fair and just."

Pinoy 1 is the fourth Filipino to be executed in China this year for drug trafficking. In March, three Filipinos were also executed after being convicted of smuggling heroin.

It is unknown how many people are executed in China each year as the government considers these figures to be a state secret. Only some executions are reported by state-run media. But according to an Amnesty International report, the figure is at least 'thousands'.

In late May, China executed 68-year-old Li Shengguang who was arrested in June 2009 after 21 toddlers at the Muge Township Wenda Kindergarten in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of southern China were sickened by a rat poison. Two of the children died as a result of the poisoning, which was intended to kill a contractor at the school.

In November 2010, China said it executed 37-year-old Cheng Ruilong who was previously convicted of murdering and raping 11 people, including three police officers, between May 1996 and January 2005. Charges for the alleged murders of a mother and her daughter were dropped as their bodies have never been recovered.

And in December 2009, China executed 53-year-old British citizen Akmal Shaikh who had been convicted of smuggling drugs into China. It sparked international condemnation as Shaikh reportedly had a mental illness, which may have been exploited by criminals. He was the first European national to be executed in China since 1951.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-09

[sirchai]

I'm sorry, but after knowing how many lives, families and friendships heroin destroys I do not see something wrong.

They would have killed him in Malaysia as well. I've lost about 60 people through the result of heroin abuse.

People who carry that much know what they're doing, no excuse.