August 12
VIETNAM:
Vietnam mulls lethal injection as additional execution method
Vietnams Justice Ministry on Thursday introduced a draft legislation
proposing lethal injection as an alternative method of executing death
sentences.
The Ministry said lethal injection would help relieve executioners of the
psychological pressure they suffer in executions by firing squad which
Vietnam has applied so far.
Lethal injection will also help reduce the state's spending on executions,
the Justice Ministry said while introducing the draft code on the
implementation of legal verdicts in Hanoi.
The draft legislation proposed authorizing the families of executed people
to take and bury their bodies.
In addition, it provided for regulations allowing the involvement of
private services in carrying out procedures and providing consultancy on
the implementation of legal verdicts.
Furthermore, the legislation also mentioned the establishment of
semi-state and private companies specializing in carrying out legal
verdicts and a judicial police force under the management of the Ministry
of Justice.
The legal document will be submitted to the National Assembly for
commenting at its 8th session to be convened later this year.
(source: Vietnam News Agency)
CHINA:
Death sentences for child smugglers
A Chinese court has ordered the death sentence for 2 men convicted of
heading gangs that bought 82 children from their parents and sold them to
families in Singapore.
An official in the publicity department at the Intermediate People's Court
in Quanzhou, a city in south-eastern China's Fujian province, confirmed
that Ke Jianxin was convicted on Wednesday of heading a syndicate that
smuggled 38 children to Singapore between 1995-2002.
Another gang leader, Ke Pengjie, was sentenced to death on August 5 for
selling 44 children, said the official.
(source: The Scotsman)
********************************
China bank ex-exec gets suspended death sentence
China sentenced the former chief of the Bank of China's Hong Kong arm to
death on Friday on charges of corruption, but suspended the sentence by 2
years in an act that could spare his life.
Liu Jinbao had been accused of embezzling 7.72 million yuan (525,000
pounds), the official Shanghai Securities News reported in July,
describing one of the most high-profile cases of the corruption that dogs
the country's financial sector.
"This morning, the people's court in Changchun, Jilin province, sentenced
former Bank of China (Hong Kong) president Liu Jinbao ... to death,
suspended for 2 years, for the crime of corruption," the bank said on its
Web site (www.bank-of-china.com).
"Liu Jinbao took advantage of his position as a senior official at the
Bank of China (Hong Kong) to siphon off public funds, breaking the law of
the People's Republic of China."
The court had seized Liu's financial assets, the lender cited spokesman
Wang Zhaowen as saying.
Liu's sentence had been expected. Suspended death sentences in China are
traditionally commuted to life imprisonment.
The statement came the same day that the bank's managing director, Zhang
Yanling, said the lender was pursuing a multi-billion-dollar initial
public offering by the end of this year or in 2006.
The bank is in investment talks with UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland,
Singapore's Temasek Holdings and the Asian Development Bank, the financial
magazine Caijing has said.
Corruption, virtually snuffed out in the years directly after the
Communist Party came to power in 1949, has staged a dramatic comeback
following market reforms over the past 25 years.
China's leaders have warned that the Party could self-destruct if it
failed to rein in corruption, which helped bring down many imperial
dynasties.
Corruption is also often cited as a deterrent to foreign investment in the
banking sector, deemed one of the weakest links of the world's
seventh-largest economy, even as Beijing scrambles to attract foreign
capital and expertise.
In 2002, Wang Xuebing was sacked from his post at China Construction Bank
over questionable loans extended during his tenure at the Bank of China.
And former Construction Bank chairman Zhang Enzhao is now under
investigation after resigning amid a storm of corruption allegations.
Liu, who was arrested in February 2004, went on trial in the northeastern
city of Changchun in July, alongside former colleagues Zhu Chi, Ding
Yansheng and Zhang Debao.
He had been charged with involvement in embezzling 14.48 million yuan,
personally or with others, and for accepting bribes totalling 1.43 million
yuan during stints in the financial hub of Shanghai and the former British
colony of Hong Kong.
Liu headed the Bank of China Hong Kong when it listed in July 2002. His
fall from grace has been one of a string of scandals to have hit the Bank
of China.
Since embarking on high-profile reforms in early 2004, after receiving
$22.5 billion (12.4 billion pounds) in state funds to help clean up its
balance sheet, the lender has joined other big state banks in trying to
improve internal controls and clamp down on corruption.
(source: Reuters)
MALAYSIA:
Former bus drivers appeal to overturn death sentence rejected
Former bus driver Hanafi Mat Hassan failed to overturn his death sentence
for the murder of a 24-year-old female computer engineer 5 years ago. The
Court of Appeal today affirmed the decision of the High Court which found
him guilty of murdering Noor Suzaily Mukhtar.
Judge Datuk Richard Malanjum, in delivering a unanimous decision, said the
appellate court found no reason to interfere with the conclusion of the
trial judge.
"We affirm the sentence and reject the appeal," he said. Sitting with him
were Datuk S. Augustine Paul and Datuk Hashim Yusoff.
Malanjum and Paul, now Federal Court judges, heard the appeal when they
were in the Court of Appeal.
Hanafi, 37, of Kampung Renik, Bachok, Kelantan, was a picture of calmness
when an interpreter told him of the outcome. None of his family members
was present in the courtroom.
The High Court in Shah Alam found Hanafi guilty of murdering Noor Suzaily
on Oct 7, 2000, between 8.50am at Lorong Pegaga, Taman Chi Liung, Klang,
and 9.15am at a construction site in Taman Bukit Tinggi, Klang.
He was also convicted of raping Noor Suzaily at the same time and place.
For this offence, Judge Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Yunus sentenced Hanafi to
the maximum 20 years jail and 12 strokes of the rotan. The jail sentence
was to run from the date of the arrest, Oct 10, 2000.
While ordering the death sentence and the jail term to run concurrently,
Hishamudin also ordered the death sentence to take precedence.
(source: New Straits Times)
INDONESIA:
Embassy bomb: Death penalty call
Indonesian prosecutors on Thursday demanded the death sentence for an
Islamic militant charged with helping plan the 2004 Australian Embassy
bombing in Jakarta that killed 11 people.
Iwan Darmawan, also known as Rois, is accused of buying a van and
materials for explosives used in the attack. The 30-year-old clothing
salesman is also accused of hiding some of the key suspects.
Authorities say Rois took his orders from Azahari bin Husin, a leader with
the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah whom police believe was the
mastermind of the attack. He remains at large in Indonesia.
Rois, who attended a militant training camp in the Philippines in the
1990s, acknowledged buying the materials, but insisted he did not know
they would be used for the bombing. He has maintained his innocence.
"We've demanded that the defendant Rois be sentenced to death," said
Nendra, a state prosecutor, who goes by only one name.
"The fact is that Rois is guilty of helping plan the attack as well as
hiding the key suspects," Nendra said.
"During the trial, he never expressed regret about what he had done. His
actions caused the death of innocent people and threatened national
stability."
Rois, wearing a skull cap and traditional Islamic shirt, appeared to be
shocked and on the verge of tears as the sentence request was read. He
later told reporters that he was innocent.
"The allegations against me are untrue and based on something I've never
done," he said.
2 of the 6 Australian Embassy bombing suspects have already been sentenced
to 3 1/2 years and 4 1/2 years on charges relating to the September 9,
2004 blast.
A 4th suspect, Heri Sigu, is on trial for allegedly helping hide some of
the key suspects.
Prosecutors on Thursday demanded a 7-year jail term for Sigu, who has
denied involvement in the bombing.
"All the evidence presented in my defense has been useless. The trial has
been designed to find me guilty," said Sigu.
Police blamed the attack on Jemaah Islamiyah, which has also been linked
to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and a 2003 blast at
Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel that killed 12 people.
(source: Associated Press)
IRAQ:
Saddam Could Be Executed After First Trial
Saddam Hussein could be executed after his 1st trial if he is convicted
and sentenced to death for his alleged role in a 1982 Shiite massacre,
even though he faces other charges, an official close to the proceedings
said Thursday.
The 1st trial, which involves the deposed Iraqi ruler's alleged role in
the 1982 massacre of an estimated 150 Shiites in Dujail, north of Baghdad,
is expected to begin by the fall, said the official. He briefed reporters
on condition that his name would not be used for reasons of security and
the sensitivity of the case.
Saddam's daughter, meanwhile, has threatened that the ousted leader's
defense lawyer could boycott the trial - and preliminary questioning -
unless the defense gets better access to Saddam. The defense has
complained in the past that it has only been allowed to meet Sadddam with
U.S. or Iraqi military officials watching.
Iraqi authorities also are building about a dozen other cases against
Saddam that they intend to try separately. Those cases include the killing
of rival politicians over 30 years, the 1987-88 Anfal campaign that left
tens of thousands of Kurds dead or displaced and the crushing of a 1991
uprising by Shiites following the Gulf War.
If Saddam is sentenced to death in the Dujail case, authorities could
"theoretically" carry out the sentence without waiting for the other
trials to begin, the official said.
"If the sentence were to be the death penalty, I think that the court will
have to make a decision based on international principles, Iraqi law,
whether or not there is need for him in another case for the prosecution
or another defendant," the official said.
"It's possible but it's going depend on the circumstances when it happens,
what other cases are going on," he added.
A 5-judge panel was expected to set a date for the Dujail trial "within
the next few weeks," he said, pledging the proceedings will be fair and
transparent.
If the court is allowed to work without political interference, "you can
expect to see trials that are transparent, that are fair, that are up to
international standards that are in compliance with international law,"
the official said.
Saddam, who ruled Iraq for 23 years with an iron fist, has been in U.S.
custody since he was captured in December 2003 near his hometown of
Tikrit.
Saddam, 68, was removed from power in April 2003 by a U.S.-led invasion.
His daughter, Raghad, has been running his defense team from Jordan, where
she fled after her father's fall. Earlier this week, she fired the entire
team except for one Iraqi lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, because the team of more
than 1,500 Arab and Western lawyers only sought fame in the high-profile
case.
She threatened that Saddam's lawyer would boycot upcoming proceedings -
including the trial - unless the defense is allowed to meet privately with
Saddam.
"Our defense will boycott all the procedures of interrogation and
prosecution until the President is allowed to have the legal advice he is
entitled to," she wrote in a letter to the Iraqi Special Tribunal, a copy
of which was made available to The Associated Press in Amman, Jordan.
She had not yet sent the letter and there was no word on when she intended
to send it. Dulaimi could not immediately be reached for comment.
"Your masters who occupy Iraq have denied the President the rights he is
entitled to according to the laws of war and to the Geneva Conventions,
which provide him the right to choose a legal counsel of his own free
choice, along with the right of such defense lawyers to have full access
and in privacy to him as they deem necessary," she said in the letter.
Raghad disputed the legitimacy of the tribunal, saying it was "totally
illegal and all its (decisions) are deemed null and void."
(source: Associated Press)
JAPAN:
JFBA to study ending death penalty
The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said Wednesday it will send a
delegation to Germany and Britain later this month to study how the
abolition of capital punishment has affected the 2 countries.
The 13-member delegation is also expected to research the 2 countries'
legal systems, including ways to prevent death-penalty misjudgments and
support for crime victims, during the Aug. 20-28 trip, it said.
Delegation members plan to visit prisons, research centers and
victim-support groups in both countries, while attending an international
study session on the abolition of capital punishment.
The JFBA adopted a resolution last October urging the government and Diet
to enact a temporary statute to suspend executions while the public
discusses the issue.
According to the federation, 72 people were on death row in Japan as of
April.
Japan is among the 76 countries that have the death penalty, while 120
countries had no capital punishment as of December.
(source: The Japan Times)
SOUTH AFRICA:
Death penalty debate is about saving lives
There are many aspects to this debate about the death penalty which have
been argued interminably over past centuries, Terrence Lockyer (Letters,
August 9) deals passionately with a few of these aspects.
I acknowledge that no country has succeeded in eliminating wrongful
convictions. But none have specifically set out to do this.
Each person has his opinions about the death penalty. Len Anderson and Jim
Harris are cases in point. For me, there are only 2 criteria. If the death
penalty could largely eliminate a specific category of murder, and if the
execution of wrongfully-convicted persons could be completely eliminated,
would Lockyer still insist be against the death penalty?
In his concern about executing convicted murderers, Lockyer ignores the
first question as to whether he would be concerned to prevent the killings
of innocent victims if the death penalty could achieve this.
He side-steps the 2nd question by concluding that the elimination of
wrongful convictions cannot be accomplished.
My experience with abolitionists is that they cannot face the possibility
that the application of man's intelligence to this problem could establish
this as a feasible reality.
Such evasion is dishonest in that we are not merely debating, but are
striving to safeguard innocent lives, which is what Lockyer says he cares
about.
Ian Glauber----Johannesburg
(source: Letter to the Editor, The Star)
