July 1
VIETNAM:
Singaporean nabbed at Vietnam-Cambodia border may get death for allegedly
transporting 10kg of Ice
A 39-year-old Singaporean man was arrested last Saturday (June 29) at the
border of Vietnam and Cambodia for allegedly transporting 10kg of crystal meth,
also known as Ice.
Cher Wei Han and Vietnamese Duong Hung Tam, 36, were detained by Vietnam's
border defence force in the southern province of Tay Ninh, reported the Vietnam
News Agency.
According to local media outlets, the pair were travelling in a Toyota Corolla
Altis when they were stopped by border guards.
The drugs, estimated to be worth US$3,450 (S$4,670), were detected following a
search of their vehicle.
Under Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600g of heroin or more
than 2.5kg of methamphetamine may face the death penalty.
Those who make or trade 100g of heroin or 300g of other illegal drugs could
also be sentenced to death.
(source: straitstimes.com)
THAILAND:
Thailand Police Arrest Child Rapist After 14 Years on the Run
Police have arrested a 52 year-old man in Northern Thailand after 14 years on
the run for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in Lamphun province in 2005.
Police arrested Pongchaipat Pichaichuang,52 of Chiang Mai province, at a house
in Moo 1 village of tambon Pradang in Wang Chao district in the Northern
Province of Tak.
Mr. Pongchaipat was wanted under an arrest warrant issued by the provincial
court of Lamphun in 2005 for the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl in Lamphun
province.
After 14 years on the run, police learned that he was hiding at a relatives
house in Tak Province.
He was asleep when police moved in and arrested him.
Police also found a vehicle that Mr Pongchaipat allegedly stole in Uttaradit in
2011.
The provincial court of Uttaradit issued a warrant for his arrest for vehicle
theft.
Rape in Thailand
Rape always brings with it devastation — to the victims, their families and
even the public that learns of such crimes.
The condemnation is loud, a cry for harsh punishment up to the penalty of death
— a solution many believe can put an end to rape.
Just recently, an amendment to the penal codes put the spotlight on the issue
of rape and sexual assaults, and the punishment that rapists can get for their
crime.
Many netizens rejoiced when learning of the possibility of the death penalty,
which applies if the rape victim dies.
New Penalties for Rapists
– Rape of a child under the age of 15
Penalties: 5 to 20 years in prison and a fine of between 100,000-400,000 baht
– Rape of a child under the age of 13
Penalties: Seven to 20 years in prison or a life sentence and a fine of between
140,000-400,000 baht
– Rape where guns, explosives or other weapons are involved, or gang-rape of a
child under the age of 15
Penalties: A life sentence
– Rape where guns, explosives or other weapons are involved or in which the
victim suffers severe injuries
Penalties: 15 to 20 years in prison and a fine of between 300,000 and 400,000
baht or a life sentence
– Marital rape in cases in which the couple wishes to remain together as
spouses
Penalties: Courts may hand down a lesser sentence than stipulated under the law
or it may order behavioural controls in lieu of a sentence
– Rape where pictures, videos or audio of the assault are recorded for personal
or other people’s gratification
Penalties: The prison term is increased by 1/3
– Distributing photos or audio recordings of a rape or sexual assault
Penalties: The prison term is increased by 1/2
(source: Chiang Rai Times)
INDIA:
Maoists kill tribal man following kangaroo court verdict
A tribal man was killed allegedly by Maoists in Malkangiri district after a
kangaroo court sentenced him to death, a police officer said.
A group of 15 to 20 armed Maoists stormed Kukurukundi village, close to
Chhattisgarh, on Friday night and forcibly took away 3 persons on the suspicion
of being police informers, he said.
Though the 'Praja court' of the Maoists set free the 2 others, it "sentenced"
Guja Kabasi with death penalty, he said.
The villagers Sunday found the body of the man, identified as that of Guja
Kabasi, with his throat slit.
It was found in a forest near the village.
Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Jagmohan Meena said, the district police
has sealed the border with the neighbouring state.
"The incident could be the handiwork of Maoists from Chhattisgarh," he said.
(source: Press Trust of India)
SRI LANKA:
Resuming Death Penalty a Major Setback----President Signs Warrants to Execute 4
Drug Offenders
The Sri Lanka government should halt plans to resume executions and restore its
de facto 43-year moratorium on the use of the death penalty, Human Rights Watch
said today. Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena said he has ordered the
execution of four drug offenders, claiming it would end increasing addiction
problems in the country.
“Sri Lanka’s plan to resume use of the death penalty is a major setback for
human rights,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Sri Lanka has been a bulwark
against capital punishment in Asia for more than four decades, yet now the
Sirisena government wants to throw in its lot with less rights-respecting
regimes.”
The death penalty has not been carried out in Sri Lanka since 1976. Currently,
1,299 prisoners – 1,215 men and 84 women – are on Sri Lanka’s death row after
having been convicted for capital offenses, including 48 people convicted for
drug crimes.
Sirisena said he was determined to crack down on drug trafficking after over
300,000 people in Sri Lanka allegedly became addicts, with 60 percent of 24,000
prison inmates incarcerated for drug-related offenses.
The United Nations General Assembly has continually called on countries to
establish a moratorium on the death penalty, progressively restrict the
practice, and reduce the offenses for which it might be imposed – all with a
view toward its eventual abolition.
Where the death penalty is permitted, international human rights law limits the
death penalty to “the most serious crimes,” typically crimes resulting in death
or serious bodily harm. In a March 2010 report, the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime called for an end to the death penalty and specifically urged member
countries to prohibit use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses, while
urging countries to take an overall “human rights-based approach to drug and
crime control.”
In its 2014 annual report, the International Narcotics Control Board, the
agency charged with monitoring compliance with UN drug control conventions,
encouraged countries to abolish the death penalty for drug offenses. The UN
Human Rights Committee and the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions have concluded that the death penalty for drug offenses
fails to meet the condition of “most serious crime.” In September 2015, the UN
high commissioner for human rights reaffirmed that “persons convicted of
drug-related offences … should not be subject to the death penalty.”
Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment in all countries and in all
circumstances because of its inherent cruelty. The alleged deterrent effect of
the death penalty has been repeatedly debunked.
“The death penalty is a cruel practice that has no place in modern society for
combating drug crimes or any other offense,” Adams said. “Sri Lanka should work
toward upholding its human rights pledges and immediately rescind the execution
orders.”
(source: Human Rights Watch)
**************************
10 FR petitions filed against implementing death penalty
10 Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court
against the implementation of the death penalty, says Ada Derana reporter.
The petitions were filed by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, Professor C.
Gunaratne, Dr K. Senaratne and the attorney of several death row inmates at the
Welikada Prison.
The Attorney General, Minister of Justice and Prison Reforms Thalatha
Atukorale, Secretary of the Justice Ministry, Commissioner General of Prisons,
Superintendent of Welikada Prison were cited as the respondents of the
petitions.
Claiming that implementation of the death penalty is a violation of basic human
rights, the petitioners point out the President’s decision to impose capital
punishment only on the inmates convicted for drug trafficking is also a
violation of Article 12 (1) of the Constitution which ensures that all persons
are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law.
Accordingly, the petitioners request the Supreme Court to issue an order
preventing the implementation of the death penalty.
(source: adaderana.lk)
***********************
Implementing death penalty will protect future generations from drug
trafficking: Sri Lanka President to UN chief
President Maithripala Sirisena called United Nations Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres on Thursday and said protecting the nation and its future generations
from the prolific risk of drug trafficking is the reason why he decided to
implement the death penalty in Sri Lanka.
"The life of schoolchildren, university students and the youth are at risk
because of the proliferation of drug trafficking. If we are to protect them,
the death penalty should be carried out against drug traffickers," Colombo Page
quoted the President as saying.
"I consider those opposed to this move as people who are aiding and abetting
the drug traffickers," Sirisen added.
The phone came after the Amnesty International expressed shock after Sirisena
on Wednesday announced death warrants for four drug offenders who will "very
soon" become the first people to be executed in decades on the island nation.
,P> Followingly, the European Union (EU) has reportedly criticised Sri Lanka`s
move to resume executions, saying it would directly contradict the country`s
commitment to maintain a 43-year moratorium on the death penalty at the UN
General Assembly last year.
The EU said in a statement issued on Thursday that Sri Lanka`s planned
executions will send the wrong signals to the international community and
investors.
The statement added that the EU will monitor Sri Lanka`s commitments to
international conventions upon which hinges a preferential trade deal with the
country.
In addition, the country on Friday also reportedly hired 2 executioners to put
the f4 convicts to death.
The executioners were selected from a list of 100 applicants who responded to
an advertisement calling for males, aged between 18 and 45, with "excellent
moral character" and "mental strength".
Last week, Sirisena announced that he had signed the documents for execution of
four big-time drug operators currently convicted and awaiting death sentence,
Colombo Page reported.
However, no names were revealed nor any details were divulged about any
scheduled executions or information on the cases except that they would take
place "very soon".
Executions for drug-related offences are unlawful. They do not meet the
threshold for "most serious crimes" - such as intentional killing - to which
the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international human
rights law, Amnesty International stressed.
Sri Lanka is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, which sets the abolition of the death penalty as the goal to be
achieved by countries that still retain this punishment.
(source: wionews.com)
PAKISTAN:
Death Penalty Database: An insight into Pakistan’s ‘problematic’ justice system
Abdul Basit’s lower body has been paralysed. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis
and then meningitis while completing his sentence in prison. He doesn’t pose
any threat to society yet he is still on death row and could be executed any
day.
He is among 4,688 death row convicts in Pakistan, according to the Justice
Project Pakistan, a legal action non-government organisation that seeks to
combat “gross miscarriages of justice” in the country.
Pakistan’s justice system is not transparent, because of which the death
sentence has also been handed over to juveniles and people with mental and
physical disabilities.
To help people understand if the death penalty serves as a crime deterrent or
not, the JPP has launched an online database on capital punishment in the
country. The database has been formed in collaboration with the Human Rights
Information and Documentation Systems International.
What will the database tell me?
The database comprises information on the number of death row prisoners, the
executions that have been carried out since 2014 and the trial details of those
prisoners.
“We want the database to help people understand who we are hanging and why we
are hanging them,” said Isfundyar Kasuri, a JPP board member.
“Where there is no empirical evidence that the death penalty deters crime or
terrorism, a closer look at the data from the past 2 decades draws attention to
a strong correlation between economic inequality, political violence and
instability, and murder rates,” he explained.
Punjab executes more people
In the last 14 years, Pakistan has sentenced 4,500 people to death and executed
around 821 people. JPP found that Punjab has executed more people than other
provinces.
Since December 2014, Punjab has hanged 404 people while 92 people were executed
in the rest of the country.
There has been a reduction in death row population in the province, but it
still accounts for more than 80% of the 511 executions that have taken place
since December 2014.
Can we trust the justice system?
In 2016, the Supreme Court acquitted 2 brothers, Ghulam Qadir and Ghulam
Sarwar. By the time the word reached the Bahawalpur Central Jail, the prison
authorities revealed that the 2 had been hanged the previous year.
“Someone made a clerical error and it was horrendous,” said lawyer Suroop Ijaz.
“This was horrendous even for a brutally wounded society such as ours.”
The criminal justice system in Pakistan is both discriminatory and inefficient,
he said. The system is hostile to the majority of the people be it the poor,
women or the oppressed. “We follow colonial laws that were meant to alienate.”
Even today, most poor people feel that they are not welcome in high courts or
the top court and that is by design, he added. “Why is that no rich person is
on death row?”
Our system relies on oral testimonies and not forensic proof. The laws that we
are governed by were adopted from the Indian Penal Code, which was formed in
response to the War of Independence in 1857. In a colonial state, the laws were
made between a state and its subjects, not a government and its citizens, he
said. “We are meant to think of criminals as people who are different from us.
The system does not work because it was designed by a colonial state to instill
fear.”
People think that all our problems will be solved by executing criminals, said
journalist Badar Alam. The public sentiment is that people accused of rape
should be hanged, people accused of terrorism should be hanged too, he said.
“Instead, we should think of structural changes to improve society.”
*An earlier version of the story identified the death row prisoner as Asif. It
has been corrected to Abdul Basit now.
(source: samaa.tv)
PAPUA NEW GUINEA:
Parlt to debate death penalty
PARLIAMENT will continue to debate whether the death penalty is maintained in
the criminal code, Prime Minister James Marape says.
Marape was responding to NCD Governor Powes Parkop’s questions about 11
prisoners who had been on death row for over 10 years.
He said Parliament would decide whether to change the laws.
“They have committed crimes that warrant that penalty.
“These prisoners would be happy that Parliament had never really deliberated on
the method of execution.
“Those on death row have been given mercy and extended life because Parliament
was not able to secure the path to termination of life,” he said.
Marape said there was study made to find out different forms of termination of
life but Parliament had not made any decision on it. “I will allow Justice
Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Davis Steven to pick up this conversation
and for us to decide whether we still maintain the death penalty or shift away
from that to life imprisonment.
“It’s something that the wisdom of this Parliament must direct as to how these
laws are fully implemented or reconstructed for the betterment of the country.
“Having safer laws and stronger penalties is something that we must have. “We
already have the death penalty in our criminal code so those are put in place
as a deterrent for crimes of that magnitude,” he said.
' Marape said law and order was a big issue in the country.
The reason for the long delay was because the method of execution had not been
decided.
“I’ve instructed the Correctional Services Minister Chris Nangoi to convert
prisons into an industry.
“We must re-educate them (prisoners) with some technical and vocational skills.
“Most prisons have land and prisoners are being fed and clothed free of charge
so why not allow them to contribute back to civil society.”
In the instance of those on death row, Parliament can debate on this. We are a
Christian country but justice must be done.
“Greater consensus of Parliament must decide the way forward,” Marape said.
(source: thenatnional.com.pg)
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