Thai Woman given death sentence by Vietnamese court

[Joe Bloggs]

It used to be the case that there were perfectly legal flying jobs available as couriers (not for drugs!) Allegedly instead of companies paying postage it was cheaper to fly someone somewhere and use their baggage allowance. Companies could have documents shipped this way securely. Of course the Internet has probably killed-off many of these jobs but I can see how the graduate was fooled.

There are other courier-type jobs that not many people know about. For example many years ago I bought an "Open Jaw" air ticket into Orlando and out of San Francisco. The travel agent in England had told me that air fares in the US were "dirt cheap" and that the cross flight would be about fifty dollars. Unfortunately it was a lie as the cross flight was going to be more like eight hundred dollars! This was rather upsetting. The local paper over there is The Orlando Sentinel and on Thursdays it has a transportation section. There were no unused halves of air tickets for sale but I was able to find a car delivery company that needed a car moving to Los Angeles. As the car had no air-conditioning and as it had a manual transmission no-one would touch the little Honda with a barge-pole so it had been there for almost two months! "Can you drive a stick shift?" they asked!

Allegedly a navy sailor had bought the car with a bank loan from a bank in LA. He had driven to Jacksonville Naval Base, caught his ship and stopped paying the loan! For legal reasons the car had to go back to the LA bank. It was a superb trip that cost me very little money as fuel was cheap and the car was very economical.

Before returning the car I dropped off my luggage at LAX and later caught the plane to Frisco. That route is like a bus service with a plane every hour!. The car journey cost less than sixty GB pounds and cost a mere fraction of what the settlers in the horse-drawn wagons had to pay well over a hundred years ago.

There are still bargains to be had and the companies punch-line is "We provide the car, you provide the gas!" It sure beats hiring a car!

[Joe Bloggs]

Very few things in life are free. If someone was to pay me a substancial sum to carry an 'item' across a country or over borders, I would be very suspicious of that 'item'. Even more so in Asia.

I cant say that Ive heard of this hypnosis being used on people so they act as drug mules.... now that would be a hard one to use as a defence in a court of law. I can hear it getting laughed out already.... some people when they realise that perhaps they stuffed up and are now facing the ultimate penalty will grasp at straws. Do I blame them for doing so? No as Id probably do the same, but dont expect law abiding people or the upholders of the law to be so gullible.

Being poor or down and out is not an excuse to break the laws of any given country. Many years ago, people in England caught stealing food (to stay alive) were sent to Australia. By todays standard those laws were bloody harsh, were they therefore wrong? Who is to say. Today we are better educated and more aware of human needs and rights. Some countries have far stricter laws in relation to drugs than other countries. Malaysia is very clear on its policy and displays at most if not all of its border crossings their law which states "Death for Drug Traffickers" Now if that isnt a clear enough warning I dont know what is. Saudi Arabia has very strict laws on a lot of different subjects, and if I was to travel there it would be in my best interests to know their laws.

Travelling around the world is probably easier now than it ever has been, but with it are more risks. Everyone has to be vigilant to the risk of someone 'slipping' drugs into their luggage and plan/act accordingly. As the saying goes 'An ounce of prevention is better then a pound of cure'.

To me its common sense, be security aware, know what you are carrying in your luggage and abide by the laws of the country. Most people do this and never have a problem. Those that dont follow the laws shouldnt start crying when they get caught.

CAREFUL! Some countries have very unusual laws. For example in Singapore it is illegal to possess chewing-gum. In Saudi Arabia it is illegal to own or use Codeine tablets even if these are prescribed by ones doctor. It is to do with Codeine being related to opiates. Bread that has been seeded can also cause trouble and bibles are about as popular as chewing gum in Singapore! Alcohol is of course a big no-no over there but everyone knows that.

One very unpleasant case that I heard of was of a European woman being assaulted and beaten for wearing western clothing instead of a Burka. Women are also not allowed to drive even if they have a full European driving licence. Stone Age?

[hawker9000]

Not knowing that you can't carry gum, or bread with sesame seeds is one thing. Trafficking drugs in your luggage, and not knowing it, is a horse of an entirely different color... I don't think we should confuse the obvious/signs in every airport/warnings of "death to drug traffickers" on the walls, with Ripley's Believe It Or Not.

[Chris Lawrence]

Dont't do the crime if you can't do the time, they knew what they were risking, bla bla bla...still, death penalty is barbarian and sickening.

You can't fix stupid.

The death penalty indisputably works.

They never re offend!

Murder Rape Running drugs - its the perfect sentence!

Unfortuntley the death sentence does not work. People still commit these types of crime.

But back to the op, silly woman.

Drug Trafficing may get a lot worse with China becoming a major player in illegal drugs. Could see a lot more articles like this in the future.

Of coure it works. Ever heard of a dead felon reoffending? OTH, ever heard of a person sentenced to life, getting out early (so often mysteriously after an election...), and then reoffending? Or even reoffending WHILE IN PRISON??!! I have. Oh, the death sentence works fine, but not unless it's used. Ask a prison guard. What's a lifer got to lose when he knows there's no death penalty?

It won't work on the Red Bull heir, as he has got too much money and the best lawyers. Ever heard of a dead felon having their sentence revoked because they didn't do the crime or political pressure required a killing? No money no honey or fair and proper representation.

[hawker9000]

Ya' got me there. A death penalty not imposed is not a death penalty, and justice runs off the rails.

[scobie redux]

I believe if you are a Vietnamese national convicted of dealing/possessing large quantities you are immediately executed if found guilty, no right to appeal.

Not true. Vietnam has over 500 people - foreigners and locals - on death row, of whom around 120 are eligible for immediate execution. Executions where suspended there for years because western companies banned the export of the drugs they use in lethal injections. They only resumed last year, and to date only one person has been executed.

[nisakiman]

Legalization now! Nobody is forced to use them so don't start with the ruining lives etc

Death penalty is outrageous by itself, but for drugs it is just crazy. Legalize and tax it, simple.

And thereby create another situation as has been with cigarettes. Smokers pay about 10% of the total health expenses associated with their addiction, and frankly, I find it offensive that the taxpayer picks up the rest.

In the UK, according to the NHS figures (which will have been exaggerated), the cost of treating 'smoking related' (which means they may or may not have been caused by smoking) diseases was £2.7 billion per annum. The tax take on tobacco products is more than £11 billion. I may not be very good at maths, but by my reckoning, the government takes about £8.5 billion more than it says it spends on smokers. That's the funniest 10% I've ever come across.

In fact, F4UCorsair, if it wasn't for the smokers heavily subsidising your healthcare costs, you would be paying a lot more in tax.

[klariss344]

i have a question;

do you think that Suracha Chaimongkol has chance to survive regardless that supreme court upheld her death penalty?

or

does her fate is determinated already?

what do you think about that poor girl Suracha Chaimongkol?

any empathy for her?