An Indonesian court sentenced a 21-year-old Thai woman...
An Indonesian court sentenced a 21-year-old Thai woman to death for attempting to smuggle 600 grams of heroin into the country in September 2001, news reports said
An Indonesian court sentenced a 21-year-old Thai woman to death for attempting to smuggle 600 grams of heroin into the country in September 2001, news reports said.
The death verdict, announced at a Jakarta court, was surprising as prosecutors had requested a life prison term for the defendant, Saichon Nonthanam, according to The Jakarta Post.
Judge Prim Haryadi, who has a track record of imposing capital punishment on drug traffickers, said he saw no mitigating circumstances in the case, adding drugs were a menace to the nation.
Saichon was arrested at Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta International Airport with 600 grams of heroin hidden in her underwear. In her testimony, she told the court she was smuggling the heroin to raise money for her sick parents.
When asked by the court if she planned to appeal the death sentence, Saichon replied, "I don't understand."
She later broke down in tears after Thai Embassy officials explained the verdict. Indonesian courts have sentenced dozens of drug traffickers to death amid recent efforts to curb rampant drug abuse among the country's youth.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Rattakit Manathat, Saichon has a week to appeal her sentence, after which the government could request clemency.
The death verdict, announced at a Jakarta court, was surprising as prosecutors had requested a life prison term for the defendant, Saichon Nonthanam, according to The Jakarta Post.
Judge Prim Haryadi, who has a track record of imposing capital punishment on drug traffickers, said he saw no mitigating circumstances in the case, adding drugs were a menace to the nation.
Saichon was arrested at Jakarta's Sukarno-Hatta International Airport with 600 grams of heroin hidden in her underwear. In her testimony, she told the court she was smuggling the heroin to raise money for her sick parents.
When asked by the court if she planned to appeal the death sentence, Saichon replied, "I don't understand."
She later broke down in tears after Thai Embassy officials explained the verdict. Indonesian courts have sentenced dozens of drug traffickers to death amid recent efforts to curb rampant drug abuse among the country's youth.
According to Foreign Ministry spokesman Rattakit Manathat, Saichon has a week to appeal her sentence, after which the government could request clemency.
— SOURCES
- (Sources: Bangkok Post, 15/03/2002)