Four condemned to death in Vietnam, three of them women one of whom is Thai

                                                                                   

A court in Hanoi sentenced three Vietnamese and a Thai woman to death on Monday for drug trafficking.

Investigation found Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang, 53, from Ho Chi Minh City, learned about the illegal trade in late 2011 and started hiring several people to help her transport drugs across regional borders. 

Police in Hanoi, Quang Ninh Province and HCMC busted the ring in October 2012, seizing 24 kilograms of heroin and more than two kilograms of methamphetamine.

They arrested Trang and three of her smugglers Le Xuan Phu, Phan Thi Lien, and Pornpirom Upapong from Thailand, local media reported.

The members told police Trang was the mastermind and hired them to transport drugs across regional countries including China, Cambodia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Police said the gang also hired some Africans who used money to lure poor Vietnamese women, who had little knowledge about drug laws, into the illegal business. They are still looking for these suspects.
Thanh Niem News

Note: As reported in an earlier item; under a revision, which takes effect July 1, 2016, Vietnam has announced abolition of the death penalty for seven crimes: surrendering to the enemy, opposing order, destruction of projects of national security importance, robbery, drug possession, drug appropriation and the production and trade of fake food.

Death Penalty in year 2015

                                                                       

Death Penalty executions have increased by over 50 per cent worldwide in 2015, the highest level since 1989. In its annual report on the death penalty Amnesty International attests to at least 1634 executions carried out in 25 countries. 89 per cent of these executions took place in three countries: Iran (977), Pakistan (326) and in Saudi Arabia (158). Next comes the United States with 28 executions. While countries exercising the wrath of Allah are beyond comment, a French commentator remarks that the US appears to be a country without respect for the most elementary humanist values.

The figures quoted ignore China where such statistics are classified as state secrets. But there is no doubt that China executes thousands each year and surpasses every other country in practice of the death penalty

By contrast, last year, the Congo Republic, Fiji, Madagascar and Surinam abolished the death penalty bringing to 102 the number of abolitionist countries.