April 30
INDONESIA:
Indonesia prepares to execute up to 13 prisoners, including many foreigners
Exactly a year after Indonesia sent the 'Bali 9' drug convicts to the firing
squad inviting harsh censure from the world for the mass killing, Jakarta has
said it's preparing to execute up to 13 prisoners in the next few days.
Indonesian Attorney General M. Prasetyo said on Friday preparations are
underway to carry out the execution of several death row prisoners.
The executions could take place as early as next week and the attorney
general's office is coordinating with the appropriate institutions, Prasetyo
said, according to the Jakarta Globe newspaper.
The executions are likely to take place at the same Nusakambangan prison island
where 8 drug convicts belonging to the so-called Bali 9 trafficking ring,
including 2 Australians, were shot dead on April 29 last year.
The report says up to 13 convicts will be executed and this includes between 7
and 10 foreign nationals. The identities of the death row inmates to be
executed imminently were, however, not released as yet.
The date for the executions is not deiced yet, Prasetyo said, but local reports
claimed the chatter in the administrative circles hinted that the executions
will take place on May 7.
The official added that Nusakambangan prison off the coast of Cilacap, Central
Java, would be "the ideal place."
"We will see later, when [the executions] will take place," Prasetyo was quoted
as saying by Tempo.co, the Post said.
Indonesia has harsh laws in place that make it easy to award death penalty for
an array of crimes, especially drug related crimes.
President Joko Widodo declared a "drug emergency" in the country after coming
to power, speeding up a process to carry out a large number of pending
executions in mainly drug offences.
Before the execution of 8 convicts on the same day on April 29 last year,
including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Jakarta sent to death 6
prisoners in January.
At a recent UN conference on narcotics, Indonesia defended its wide use of the
death penalty in drug trafficking cases.
"Indonesia and like-minded countries ... face diverse challenges in handling
drugs and the death penalty is 1 of the options based on sovereignty of the law
in each country," a foreign ministry statement said.
(source: IB Times)
CHINA:
China's 'Valentine's Day' killer acquitted of 1998 murder
A Chinese man sentenced to death for the Valentine's Day murder of his
girlfriend 18 years ago has been acquitted, a court said, the latest wrongful
conviction overturned in the country.
Liu Jiqiang, 52, was found guilty of strangling and stabbing his lover on
February 14, 1998, earning him the notorious nickname "Valentine's Day killer"
in the Chinese press.
But after spending nearly 2 decades on death row, the Higher People's Court of
Jilin province in northeast China dismissed his conviction citing insufficient
evidence, the court said Friday on its official Sina Weibo microblog.
Liu initially admitted to the killing, but his lawyers said his confession was
obtained as a result of torture and illegal questioning, according to Xinhua
news agency.
He was handed the death penalty in December 1999 with a 2-year reprieve which
in China often means life in prison.
He unsuccessfully appealed his guilty verdict twice, in 2002 and 2003,
according to Xinhua.
China's courts are tightly controlled by the ruling Communist party, which has
vowed to overturn mistaken verdicts in the face of widespread public anger.
Liu's case is the latest to highlight miscarriages of justice in the country,
where forced confessions are widespread and more than 99 % of criminal
defendants are found guilty.
\ In February, the high court in eastern Zheijiang ordered the release of Chen
Man who had been jailed for more than two decades on murder charges.
Of those exonerated in recent years, Chen had spent the longest time in prison,
23 years, state media said.
In 2014, a court in the Inner Mongolia region cleared a man who was convicted,
sentenced and executed for rape and murder in 1996 at the age of 18.
The reversal of the verdict came 9 years after another man confessed to the
crime.
(source: Agence France-Presse)
TAIWAN:
Chang Ho-ling escapes execution
The High Court yesterday commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence
handed down to Chang Ho-ling, who was convicted of the murder of his wife and 2
daughters in a case that has wound through the courts for 10 years.
The ruling has sparked controversy and protests from the victims' relatives and
the judiciary, along with members of the public, who believe life imprisonment
is too lenient.
Chang, now 49, was found guilty of using ether to asphyxiate his wife, Tsai
Ting-yu, and their 2 young daughters at their home in New Taipei City in 2006,
then tampering with the crime scene to make it look like suicide through gas
poisoning. After a forensic investigation pointed to murder, Chang confessed.
Chang had been carrying on an extramarital affair with a woman surnamed Su, who
reportedly advised Chang to do away with his wife and daughters to start a new
life with her, and in an effort to please his new lover, Chang filmed the
killing of his wife for Su to watch, the courts found.
As the case went through the courts, judges upheld the original ruling of 2
death sentences for Chang for the murders of his daughters and 1 life prison
term for murdering his wife.
However, the latest ruling commuted the death sentence because judges said
there remains a possibility of Chang's rehabilitation, citing a psychiatric
report.
The mother of victim Tsai Ting-yu spoke out yesterday to condemn the judiciary.
"The judges were too lenient on Chang," she said. "Before, the ruling was
always the death sentence. Now all of a sudden it has changed to a life
sentence. We cannot accept it and we will appeal this decision."
She broke down in tears when talking to reporters.
"For 10 years, I have attended all the trial hearings. It has drained my mind
and taken a toll on my failing health. I cry every day when I think about my
daughter and my granddaughters. The sentencing was too lenient. The courts have
not given us justice," she said.
Lin Hung-sung, the prosecutor who pursued the case and brought the charges
against Chang, also said it was not right that Chang should escape the death
penalty.
"I felt very bad today when I heard the ruling. Even I cannot accept it, so how
can the victims' families accept this decision?" Lin said. "The ruling must be
appealed so justice can be served."
(source: Taipei Times)
NIGERIA:
Abduction nation: Despite death sentence, kidnappings thrive
Daily Trust checks show that an average of 25 Nigerians are kidnapped every
month, while 278 Nigerians have been abducted between May 2015 and April 2016.
Also, amounts ranging from N250,000 to millions of naira have been demanded as
ransom, bringing the total sum to N3.3bn.
The rising wave of the crime across the country has left many more afraid of
kidnappers than armed robbers or even insurgents. Gone are the days when only
expatriates, wealthy individuals and petroleum industry workers were the main
targets. Today, anyone can fall victim.
The failure of security agencies at resolving many cases has made matters
worse, with many families caving in and agreeing to pay ransom. While there are
instances where the police rescue victims without payment of ransoms, there are
also many where huge amounts were paid to kidnappers.
There are also instances where the police claim credit for rescuing victims
without ransom payments, only for the families of victims to counter the claims
by publicly announcing how much they paid to secure the release of their loved
ones.
According to reports, most of the kidnappers said they engaged in it because
they needed money to solve personal problems as they have no job.
Victims suffer psychological trauma, lack of trust, fear, torture and in some
cases even rape, among others.
The 14 April 2014 abduction of about 276 Chibok school girls in Maiduguri by
the Boko Haram insurgents remains indelible even as it drew world attention
including reactions from US President Barack Obama and other world leaders.
The scourge of kidnapping has forced many states to enact laws recommending
capital punishment and long prison sentences for those convicted of kidnapping.
This month alone 32 cases of kidnapping were reported in Enugu, Kano, Cross
River, Imo, Rivers, Kaduna, Abia, Kogi, FCT, Delta and Benue states. Since
kidnapping is not contained on the exclusive list of the Nigerian Constitution,
it is States Houses of Assembly that can enact laws on it.
Kidnapping was made a capital offence in 2009 in Abia, Akwa, Ibom, Anambra,
Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states to curtail the wave. No kidnapper has however
faced the death penalty since the enactment of the laws.
Before the Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, signed into law a bill
that prescribes death penalty for convicted kidnappers in the state, and before
the Kogi State Executive Council under former Governor Idris Wada approved
death penalty for kidnapping and other related criminal activities in the
state, Governors Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa and Adams Oshiomhole of Edo states
approved the death penalty for kidnappers in 2013. The Delta State House of
Assembly also passed the Anti-Kidnapping Bill 2013, imposing a death sentence
on any person convicted of kidnapping in the state, into law.
How Nigeria would tackle the menace remains to be seen in the face of other
socio-economic and security challenges, even as the nation is held to ransom by
kidnappers.
(source: dailytrust.com.ng)
JAMAICA:
'Don't waste your time,' Montague
A plan by the Minister of National Security Robert Montague to undertake
consultations on the legal impediments to the resumption of hanging, has been
described as a waste of time by attorney-at-law and human rights activist Nancy
Anderson.
"It's a waste of time. Anyone can just pick up the law and see what it says
about hanging, and it's a law made by our courts, not by the Privy Council or
anybody else," she said in an interview with The Gleaner.
The security minister is, however, of the view that the consultations are
necessary.
"Persons who intend to break the law must know that the punishment will be
sure, swift and just. In that regard I have asked the minister of state,
Senator Pearnel Charles Jr, to consult with a number of agencies, including the
Attorney General's office and the Ministry of Justice to determine if there are
legal impediments for the resumption of hanging in Jamaica," he said while
speaking at the Passing out Parade and Awards Ceremony for constables at the
National Police College of Jamaica at Twickenham Park in St Catherine.
While pointing out that the death penalty remains on the books, Anderson argued
that the consultations ordered by Montague are unnecessary given that the legal
impediments are already known.
"We already know what the legal impediments are. They were clearly set out in
the Peter Dougal case," she said.
Anderson, in pointing to a 2011 ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of
41-year-old farmer and construction worker, Peter Dougal, argued that the
conditions laid down by the court make it highly unlikely that anyone in
Jamaica will ever be hanged again.
The 2011 judgement in the Dougal v. R case ruled that the prosecution must give
written notice that they will be seeking the death penalty. In addition, if the
person is convicted by a jury, the judge must be convinced that the murder
committed is of the worst kind, that there is no chance for rehabilitation of
the offender and that there can be no other punishment that can be given except
the death penalty.
Montague, in responding to questions from journalists in regards to the
reaction of Jamaica's international partners to any move to resume hanging,
noted that hanging remains on Jamaica's books and that the laws of Jamaica
superseded international treaties.
"My international partners, the 1st thing they will tell you is that they will
obey the laws of whatever country they are operating in," he said.
Jamaica has not executed anyone since 1988, but the Government reaffirmed its
commitment to retaining the death penalty through a 2008 conscience vote in
Parliament.
(source: Jamaica Gleaner)
VIETNAM:
Vietnam sentences Singapore man to death for trafficking heroin
A court in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday sentenced a Singaporean man to death for
trafficking 2.5 kilograms of heroin.
Lee Loke Dah, 40, was arrested at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in
December 2014 with a plastic bag containing thousands of capsules. Further
tests confirmed that the drug was heroin.
The man, who had entered the country 4 days earlier, told investigators that he
stole the bag from a stranger in a hotel in District 5 and that he was not
aware of the drug.
Prosecutors rejected these claims. The court found him guilty of drug
trafficking.
Vietnam has some of the world's toughest drug laws. The production or sale of
100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is punishable by
death. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin
or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine also face the death penalty.
(source: Thanh Nien News)
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