Chinese execution

Strange state of affairs-----If the guy was mentally ill why was he going to China in the first place.Starting a "Pop" career at 53?. Claiming he was "Duped" into carrying 5 kilos of heroin.
The Chinese authorities claim there is no previous record of mental illness
and it baffles me where these people get the money from to go globe trotting.
I do not disagree with a nation upholding its own laws within its own territorial confines providing judicial practice has been adhered to.
Brown and Milliband must have great expectations of themselves if they think they can influence the Chinese and as far as I can see all they have managed to do is alienate the Chinese
It surprises me that "Sane" the British Charity can get enough information from China that they can form a diagnosis of the mans mental health.

Not necessarily saying that I agree or disagree with the death penalty but interfering with other countries judicial systems seems a bit strong
I traveled abroad for 30 years and respect that each individual country has different laws and "When in Rome" should apply

[timwilky]

As I understand things, the guy had managed to run a company. and has lived in a number of countries. Therefore I find it strange he was supposed to be so mentally ill that he would not know he was dealing in drugs. That he attempted to smuggle the drugs is not disputed.

Why was it claimed so much that he is a British national. He also held Pakistani nationality. I would gave thought under current circumstances the Chinese authorities would have be more swayed by Pakistan than a minor bankrupt country of no political, economic or strategic value to them

Totally agree with you, got no sympathy for him.
Live by the sword you die by the sword.

[husky03]

let this be a lesson to those who consider exploiting the demand for economic growth in china and the doors that their need for development open-more people are gonna try and make money from the chinese, both legally and illegally, by carrying out their laws(rightly or wrongly )they have shown that they will not buckle to pleas from second rate leaders from other countries-this sends a message that if you do the crime-your gonna do the time.They show very little human rights to their own people, so their not gonna show anymore to some foreign dude.They worked it out that the amount of herion he brought in was enough to kill 26,800 people-there not gonna lose sleep over killing one instead.
Feel sorry for the guys family, but where were they when he was shooting off around the otherside of the world?-if he was as ill as they said surely they'd be involved in his day to day life?.

I was listening to psychiatrist on R5 talking about this and bipolar disorder. If I understood him correctly, he was saying that the chap would still have understood that what he was doing was wrong.

Seems that the Chinese acted as they did because there was no evidence on file that he had a mental illness.

My view:
Why do we think we have the right to lecture other governments about human rights? We're not exactly squeaky-clean ourselves...... invading Iraq on fabricated "evidence" in a dodgy dossier, turning a blind eye to extraordinary rendition from the UK by the US, CCTV cameras watching our every move (legal or otherwise), keeping names of innocent people on criminal databases, compiling a database of the affairs of every new born child in the country...

The guy broken Chinese law in China - this is not disputed. He should therefore be judged in China by the Chinese according to Chinese law.

[husky03]

Originally Posted by Jabba

I was listening to psychiatrist on R5 talking about this and bipolar disorder. If I understood him correctly, he was saying that the chap would still have understood that what he was doing was wrong.

Seems that the Chinese acted as they did because there was no evidence on file that he had a mental illness.

My view:
Why do we think we have the right to lecture other governments about human rights? We're not exactly squeaky-clean ourselves...... invading Iraq on fabricated "evidence" in a dodgy dossier, turning a blind eye to extraordinary rendition from the UK by the US, CCTV cameras watching our every move (legal or otherwise), keeping names of innocent people on criminal databases, compiling a database of the affairs of every new born child in the country...

The guy broken Chinese law in China - this is not disputed. He should therefore be judged in China by the Chinese according to Chinese law.

+1

[Jayneflakes]

It is widely known that China has an appalling human rights record, if you look at what they use the death penalty for, you see that it is given out for some crimes, that in this country a criminal would get a light sentence for. Why are people surprised at this outcome?

I do not like the death penalty, but smuggling Class A drugs into China was a really stupid thing to do, mental health issues or not, it was a stupid thing to do. You do not need to be fully aware to know that China is a country gripped by a vicious regime, to break their laws you would have to be mental.

Maybe there will be a few more members of Amnesty after this story, but I doubt there will be much else done. China will continue to exploit it's own people and murder them every day, what is one little drug smuggler to them?

[dizzyblonde]

Hes the first European to be executed in China for 'x' amount of years. Does he get a special badge?


Sorry I have no sympathy for him.

Isnt bi polar the new namefor manic depression ? if so plenty of people have manic depression and dont go round smuggling class A drugs, Im sorry he paid for it with his life but what about all the lives which could have been lost through the heroin he smuggled ?

[Luckypants]

This guy was never diagnosed with Bi-polar (manic-depression) disorder. The 'diagnosis' was by a forensic psychologist based on here-say evidence from his family, his lifestyle and so forth. His 'diagnosis' was paid for by Reprieve, the anti-death penalty charity. The Chinese said they were not presented with any medical evidence of mental illness, which of course they could not be, because he has never been diagnosed with it. IMHO the bi-polar thing is flim-flam cooked up by Reprieve to try to get this guy off, well that might wash in a soft judicial system like ours, but not with the Chinese.

I agree that it was right he has been tried and sentenced by the Chinese, in China and under Chinese law - because it was their laws he broke.


and it's one less drug trafficker in the world, so I'm happy about that.