CHINA: FOUR DRUG TRAFFICKERS EXECUTED

China executed four convicted drug traffickers and sentenced at least 15 others to death as the nation marked global anti-drug day, state press reported.
Courts in four Chinese provinces sentenced a total of 117 people for drug trafficking on the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Xinhua news agency said.
Three Taiwanese men - Chen Tien-lu, Hsu Fu-tai and Wang Chen-tsung - were executed in southeast China's Fujian province after being convicted of smuggling methamphetamine, also known as ice, across the Taiwan strait, the report said.
Another man was executed in northeast China's Jilin province after being convicted of trafficking four kilogrammes (8.8 pounds) of the same substance, it said.
Of the 15 convicted drug traffickers sentenced to death, nine were given a two-year reprieve, meaning their sentences will likely be commuted to life in prison if they behave during that period.
"Chinese courts nationwide have been carrying out public trials over drug trafficking or destroying drugs to make people aware of the harms of drugs," Xinhua said of the anti-drug day.