On March 13, John Aquino, a Filipino man who had been...

On March 13, John Aquino, a Filipino man who had been on death row for 10 years in the United Arab Emirates, had his death sentence for murder commuted to 15 years in jail. He was sentenced to death in the UAE emirate of Ajman in 1989 for killing Harbajan Singh. In 1996, the Supreme Court overturned the sentence and ordered a new trial, repeatedly delayed to give Aquino time to reach a settlement with the victim's family. In January, Singh's family submitted affidavits to the Abu Dhabi-based court forgiving Aquino for the murder. Aquino was ordered to pay UD122,000 to the family, an official said, quoting Aquino's lawyer. However, Filipino Ambassador Amable Aguiluz said that no request for "blood money" had been mentioned in the family's affidavit. There are 60 Filipinos jailed in the UAE, some of whom have been convicted for illicit affairs, embezzlement, theft, murder and drugs.