JAPANESE MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN CHINA ON DRUG SMUGGLING CHARGES

a court in China sentenced a Japanese man to death on drug smuggling charges, an official from the Dalian branch of the Japanese Consulate-General in Shenyang said. The man, aged in his 40s, was detained in 2003 at an airport in the northern Chinese city of Dalian on charges of attempting to smuggle approximately 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of stimulant drugs to Japan. The man pleaded not guilty and planned to appeal the ruling, Kyodo News agency said.