a Chinese court upheld a death sentence against Jiao Ming

a Chinese court upheld a death sentence against Jiao Ming, a Myanmar drug dealer, who was arrested with 3.7 kilograms of heroin. The Supreme Court of the western province of Sichuan issued the ruling against Jiao, who was arrested in 1997 in Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar, the Beijing Youth Daily said. The court rejected arguments that Jiao's life should be spared on the grounds that since he was caught in the midst of a drug deal, his heroin hadn't hurt Chinese society. The court also dismissed appeals by three of Jiao's Chinese accomplices. One was sentenced to death while the others received life in prison. The report did not say when the executions would be carried out or give other details about Jiao.