[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 25


TANZANIA:

Court of appeal upholds death sentence


THE Court of Appeal has upheld the death sentence passed against a
resident of Lindi Region, John William Mpai, for killing his neighbour,
Mrs Fatuma Akule Luhunde.

The High Court on October 15, 2003 handed Mpai a death sentence after
convicting him of killing his neighbour on witchcraft suspicion grounds.

Justices Augustino Ramadhani, Eusebia Munuo and Harold Nsekela last week
dismissed the appeal lodged by Mpai after evidence proved that he guilty
murder.

The prosecution had told the court that Mpai killed Mrs Luhende at
Chinongwe B Village, Ruangwa District in Lindi Region on November 13,
2002.

At about 10.00am on the fateful day, Mpai told Mrs Luhende's son to move
away from the village together with his mother because they were witches.
At around 6.00pm, the son went to a shop to buy some kerosene, leaving his
mother alone at home.

Court records show that on his way to the shop, he saw Mpai sitting in
front of his house. A few minutes later, another neighbour, Abdallah Issa,
saw him repeatedly hitting something on the ground with an iron rod.

When Issa went back where he had seen Mpai, he did not find him there
instead he saw Mrs Luhunde on the ground breeding profusely from beatings.

Issa and Mrs Luhunde's son took the mother to hospital, but it was too
late to save her life as she died moments later. The village militiaman,
Mzee Kumbuka, and other villagers immediately started searching for Mpai.

Mpai was captured on the 2nd day and when he was taken to court he
defended himself by saying that on the material day he was not present at
the scene of the crime as he was in the company of Msafiri Maravi
distilling local illicit liquor commonly known as gongo.

However, during the trial, Mr Maravi, who was called by Mpai to defend him
against the murder charges, denied it.

(source: Daily News)






CHINA:

China passes death sentences on gun racketeers


A court in western China has upheld death sentences against 2 leaders of a
gun-running racket that reached into neighbouring Pakistan, state media
reported on Wednesday.

Last October, Ma Zeying and Zhang Chenming were sentenced to death by
Haidong District Court in China's Qinghai province for illegally buying,
shipping and selling guns in China's biggest gun-running case.

It said the gang bought 914 guns and 1,556 gun parts in Pakistan and
several provinces and regions in western China to "conduct illegal
transactions".

The Qinghai Provincial People's High Court also upheld suspended death
sentences on Zhang Guoming, Ma Shenghun and 5 members of the racket. 2
more were jailed for life and five others were given fixed jail terms, the
report said.

Guns have generally been hard to obtain in modern China, but Chinese
police have previously blamed poverty in China's remote western provinces
for fuelling their illegal manufacture and sale.

In a crackdown from June to August, police seized 117,000 guns and
detained close to 50,000 people, 1,000 of whom were prosecuted, China's
Public Security Bureau said in September.

Separately, the king-pin of a 20-member organized crime gang in China's
commercial hub of Shanghai has been sentenced to death for drug
trafficking, assault and illegal possession of weapons, Xinhua reported on
Wednesday.

Li Bin, who had previously served 6 sentences for crimes including theft
and possessing counterfeit money, had "formed a mafia-style crime ring by
hiring unemployed people and ex-convicts" and "made a fortune through drug
dealing and an underground gambling business", Xinhua said.

The verdict comes amid a scandal implicating a string of senior Shanghai
officials and businessmen, including the city's Communist Party chief, in
the misuse of the city's social security fund.

(source: Reuters)