Nov. 7
INDONESIA:
SA pair face death penalty over tik
2 South Africans arrested with more than R7 million worth of the drug tik in
their possession in Bali last month could face the death penalty.
Brett Savage, of Townsview in Joburg, was arrested on October 19 carrying just
under 3kg of crystal methamphetamine.
4 days later, Kedibone Sheila Motshweneng was arrested with just under 2.5kg of
the same drug.
Article 113 of Indonesia’s anti-narcotics laws, which outlaws the offence,
dictates that both South Africans could be executed if found guilty.
Savage’s family, who do not want to be named, said yesterday they were still
shocked by his arrest.
“We do not know the nitty-gritty details. We do not even know what happened. We
have not been officially informed that he was arrested,” said his sister on
Sunday night.
Savage, who turned 43 in September, had been a restaurant manager at the Grand
Central restaurant in Melrose Arch for several years, they said.
“He was working. He had just bought a car. We thought he was doing OK,” the
sister said.
He lived in Townsview with another sister and none of them knew he was going on
the trip to Bali.
“When I heard that Brett had been arrested for drug trafficking, my heart sank.
He doesn’t even do drugs. He does not drink excessively. If Brett knew it was
drugs, or any critical item, he would never have done it,” she explained.
Currently they were trying to work out the logistics of his 2 children. He has
a 14-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old son.
The daughter has a two-week-old baby, born just 6 days after Savage was
arrested.
The children’s mother is in the UK.
“We feel terrible about the fact that he could face a death sentence. We are
praying that it is not going to be a death sentence.
“We hope that they will be a bit more lenient with him,” said his sister.
The family has questioned whether the authorities in Bali would test him for
drug usage, and they are sure that this will show that Savage is not a user.
“A death sentence will tear our family apart. We know he has to serve time, but
we are hoping we will be able to go to the airport and pick him up after he has
done his time,” the sister said.
She explained that the family could not afford the flights to Bali to visit
him.
Reports in the Jakarta Post newspaper claim that Savage and Motshweneng were
among 6 drug mules arrested as part of a Bali syndicate.
Savage was arrested at the Ngurah Rai International Airport after arriving on a
Singapore Airlines flight from Joburg via Singapore.
Custom officials had apparently noticed an unusual item in his luggage during a
routine x-ray scan. Officers opened his suitcase and found the drugs hidden
inside.
Reports said Savage’s arrest was quickly followed by another 2.
An Indonesian citizen allegedly meant to have received the drugs, and a
Nigerian accomplice, were arrested in Jakarta.
Four days after Savage was taken into custody Motshweneng – believed to be a
librarian and a single mother in South Africa – was arrested on arrival at the
Ngurah Rai International Airport.
After her arrest another 2 Indonesian suspects were taken into custody. The
first, a woman, was arrested in a hotel in Bali. The second, a man, was
arrested in East Java.
(source: IOL News)
CHINA:
Fraud billionaire may escape death penalty
Wu Ying, a Zhejiang billionaire who was sentenced to death on her 1st trial in
one of the country's biggest financial frauds committed by a woman, may have a
narrow escape as the province's high people's court remands the case back for a
new trial.
Wang Jun, a judge from the high people's court of Zhejiang province who's
handling Wu's civil actions, said Jinhua intermediate people's court would
rehear Wu's related civil cases covering disputes over Zhengjiang's
Dongyang-based Bense Holding Group's property rights without offering any
reason. Wang also mentioned that the two courts are in the process of
transferring the case, according to Caixin.cn, a financial news media.
30-year-old Wu, former owner of Bense Holding Group, was sentenced to death, a
deprivation of her political rights for life and confiscation of all personal
property at her original trial by the Jinhua intermediate people's court in
December 2009.
The indictment said Wu swindled nearly 390 million yuan ($57 million) from 11
people by fraudulently promising high returns.
Wu then pleaded guilty to a lesser charge 7 months ago at her appeal against an
earlier conviction and against the death sentence she was handed.
The retrial concerned what Wu referred to as false arrest. Wu said she has been
kept in unlawful detention for eight days by a group of people headed by Yang
Zhi'ang, one of her creditors. Wu alleged she was robbed of cash and check,
valued at 3.3 million yuan, plus several bank cards, luxury watch and jewelry,
on Dec 20, 2006.
She was also forced to sign on more than 30 pieces of blank paper, which were
later used as 3 transfer certificates of the housing ownership, receipts and a
certificate giving the bearer Wu's power of attorney.
The 3 transfer certificates covered three properties under the Bense Group's
name, which Wu's father, Wu Yongzheng, claimed were worth over 100 million
yuan. One would have to be insane to sell at such a low price, said Wu
Yongzheng to the media.
Wu Ying further claimed that the sale never happened, which could be
investigated and verified by going through the record of banking transaction.
The incident is said to have led to the collapse of Wu Ying's Bense Business
Empire.
Wu Ying entrusted her father to lodge an appeal to this fake suit in 2008,
which was lodged and subsequently dismissed, but she did not give up and kept
demanding an explanation of the discrepancies and a clarification of the
ownership to the housing property.
Wu's lawyer, Zhang Yangfeng, told Caixin.cn, the civil retrial augured well for
Wu's criminal case. It might influence Wu's criminal sentence by offering a
clear map of her company's fund flow even if it did not have a decisive effect,
said Zhang.
According to Zhang, the news also brought hope to Wu in prison.
However, Wu Dong, a partner of M&A Law Firm, said the situation might not be as
optimistic as Zhang suggested. "Theoretically speaking, there's possibility
(that Wu might escape the death sentence), but the retrial is only for the
civil action rather than the criminal one," said Wu.
"You may argue that two of them are entangled, but as far as I know the high
people's court of Zhejiang is under big pressure - many of Zhejiang's local
high officials called for Wu's death sentence," he said.
Wu impeached another seven officials from Dongyang and Yiwu (in 2011) in
addition to her earlier exposure of 10 such. Dozens of Dongyang's local
government officials had signed a letter asking the judge to sentence Wu Ying
to death before the 1st trial.
(source: China Daily)
GLOBAL:
UNODC study shows that homicide is highest in parts of the Americas and Africa
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has released its 1st
Global Study on Homicide. The Study shows that young men, particularly in
Central and South America, the Caribbean, and southern and central Africa, are
at most risk from intentional homicide but that women are at highest risk from
murder due to domestic violence. There is evidence of rising homicide rates in
Central America and the Caribbean, which are "near crisis point", according to
the Study.
Firearms are behind rising murder rates in those two regions, where almost
three quarters of all homicides are committed with guns, compared to 21 % in
Europe. Men face a much higher risk of violent death (11.9 per 100,000) than
women (2.6 per 100,000), although there are variations between countries and
regions. In countries with high murder rates, especially involving firearms,
such as in Central America, 1 in 50 males aged 20 will be killed before they
reach the age of 31 - several hundred times higher than in some parts of Asia.
Worldwide, 468,000 homicides occurred in 2010. Some 36 % of all homicides take
place in Africa, 31 % in the Americas, 27 % in Asia, 5 % in Europe, and 1 % in
Oceania.
Clear link between crime and development
The Study also establishes a clear link between crime and development.
Countries with wide income disparities are 4 times more likely to be afflicted
by violent crime than more equitable societies, it says. Conversely, economic
growth seems to stem that tide, as the past 15 years in South America have
shown.
Chronic crime is both a major cause and result of poverty, insecurity and
under-development. Crime drives away business, erodes human capital and
destabilizes society. Targeted actions are needed. "To achieve the Millennium
Development Goals, crime prevention policies should be combined with economic
and social development and democratic governance based on the rule of law,"
said Yury Fedotov, UNODC Executive Director.
According to the Study, sudden dips in the economy can drive up homicide rates.
In selected countries, more murders occurred during the financial crisis of
2008/09, coinciding with declining gross domestic product (GDP), higher
consumer price index and more unemployment.
Firearms, youth crime and organized crime
In 2010, 42 % of homicides were committed with firearms (Americas: 74 %,
Europe: 21 %). Gun crime is driving violent crime in Central America and the
Caribbean - the only region where the evidence points to rising homicide rates.
"It is crucial that measures to prevent crime should include policies towards
the ratification and implementation of the Firearms Protocol," said Mr.
Fedotov. He stressed that although 89 States were parties to the Protocol,
which supplements the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organized
Crime, many more countries could accede to that legal instrument and his Office
stood ready to help them. "Domestic policies in furtherance of the Protocol's
provision can help avoid the diversion of firearms to fuel violence and
increase homicides," Mr. Fedotov stated.
Organized crime, especially drug-trafficking, accounted for a quarter of deaths
caused by firearms in the Americas, but only some 5 per cent of homicides in
Asia and Europe (where data are available). This does not mean, however, that
organized crime groups are not active in those two regions, but rather that
they may be operating in ways that do not employ lethal violence to the same
extent.
Crime and violence are strongly associated with large youthful populations,
especially in developing countries. While 6.9 persons per 100,000 are killed
each year globally, the rate for young male victims is three times higher (21.1
per 100,000). Young men are more likely to own weapons and engage in street
crime, take part in gang warfare and commit drug-related offences. Cities may
be the scene of 3 times more homicides than less populated areas.
Gender dimensions of violent crime
Globally, some 80 % of homicide victims and perpetrators are men. But, whereas
men are likelier to be killed in a public place, women are mainly murdered at
home, as in Europe where half of all female victims were killed by a family
member. The overwhelming majority of victims of partner and family-related
violence are women. In Europe, for example, women comprised almost 80 % of all
people killed by a current or former partner in 2008.
The fuller picture
Currently, all data on intentional homicides are derived from either criminal
justice or public health systems. However, not all countries have the capacity
to compile consistent and reliable crime statistics. International and regional
entities therefore have a partial picture of the world crime situation. The
knowledge of the patterns and causes of violent crime are crucial for devising
preventive strategies.
UNODC supports States in the areas of crime prevention and criminal justice,
especially resulting from drug trafficking and organized crime. The Office has
developed technical assistance tools to help States translate policy into
reality, and supports the development of model strategies and practical
measures.
For further information please contact: Preeta Bannerjee, Public Information
Officer: UNODC----E: preeta.bannerjee{at}unodc.org
(source: UNODC.org)
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