On June 25, authorities in Changsha and other areas...

On June 25, authorities in Changsha and other areas executed 8 drug traffickers. In the two previous months, courts in Hunan Province meted out punishment to 309 drug offenders. Of this number, 106 people received the death sentence, life imprisonment, and prison sentences exceeding 5 years. Nine drug traffickers were executed in Shanghai, and 19 others received first-instance sentences ranging from fixed-term imprisonment to the death penalty, awaiting confirmation. Sichuan Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Intermediate People's Court handed out death sentences to 6 drug traffickers. They were immediately executed after the court announcement. In the first 5 months of 1999, Sichuan courts handled 432 cases of drug-related crimes involving 628 people, up 30% over the corresponding period last year. Recently, courts in Chengdu ordered the execution of 13 drug traffickers and the burning of over 7,000g of seized heroin. Courts in Xian City and Hanzhong and Yulin Prefectures (Shaanxi Province) meted out death sentences to 17 drug traffickers. They were executed the same day. In Guangzhou (Guandong Province), more than 20 drug traffickers were executed. In the first quarter of 1999, Guangzhou railway courts tried 94 cases of drug-related crimes, three of which involved more than 500g of narcotics. Courts in Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, and Maoming punished 41 drug traffickers on June 23 and 24, 1999. Eleven of them received the death sentence and were executed. The amount of seized narcotics in Guangdong has exceeded 81,000g in the past 3 years.