37 Malaysians Nabbed For Drug Crimes In Southern China
By Tham Choy Lin
BEIJING, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, who is on death row in China for smuggling heroin, is one of 37 Malaysians convicted or awaiting trial on drug related crimes in southern Guangdong and Fujian provinces.
Malaysian ambassador to China Datuk Syed Norulzaman Syed Kamarulzaman said the figure was based on current records with the Malaysian consulate in Guangzhou and most of those convicted were imprisoned for heroin trafficking.
"There are 69 crime cases involving Malaysians in the two provinces, more than half of which are related to drugs. Like Malaysia, China also has very strict laws and penalties regarding drug trafficking.
"In cases involving our citizens, the embassy provides consular assistance. We send officials to visit those in detention to look at their condition and see that they are treated fairly," he told Bernama today.
Syed Norulzaman said an official from the Malaysian consulate in Guangzhou visited Umi Azlim last week.
"She is in good health and her condition is fine. She is well treated by the authorities," he said.
Umi, 23, a Universiti Malaysia Sabah graduate from Kelantan, pleaded guilty to smuggling 2.983kg of heroin at the airport in Shantou, a port city on northern tip of Guangdong, on Jan 19 and was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve in May.
A local lawyer who declined to be identified said such sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment with good behaviour.
Drug trafficking is a crime punishable by death in China. Under the law, narcotic drugs include opium, heroin, ice, morphine, marijuana, cocaine and psychotropic substances.
Persons manufacturing or trafficking in 50gm of heroin or ice are liable to 15 years jail, life imprisonment or death while those involved in amounts of 10gm to less than 50gm face at least seven years jail and a fine.
There are two types of capital punishment in China -- death with immediate execution and death with two-year reprieve -- and they must be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court (SPC) which reassumed the role on Jan 1 this year after a 24-year gap.
Sentences can be commuted to life imprisonment after two years of good behaviour or 15 to 20 years if restitution is made, the state media reported.
Guangdong authorities are cracking down on drug smuggling involving foreigners as the province has become a trafficking hub in recent years because of its proximity to Hong Kong and Macau.
A Guangdong procuratorial official said there was a dramatic rise in drug smuggling in the past two years and it was the most serious crime involving foreigners.
"Most foreign smugglers have been found to have developed a close relationship with international smuggling organisations," an official, Cai Meiyan, was quoted as saying by state media.
In the first half of this year, 102 foreigners were detained in 75 cases in Guangdong, more than three times that for the corresponding period last year.
State media reported that nationwide, China Customs seized 229kg of heroin and detained 180 people in 165 cases in the same period, up 81 per cent from the first six months of last year, with an official saying that in recent cases, smugglers had posed as tourists and carried drugs in their luggage.
-- BERNAMA