Death
sentence finalized for Japanese drug smuggler in China
10/23/2007
By KOICHI
FURUYA, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
SHENYANG, China--A court here Tuesday finalized the death
sentence of a Japanese man convicted of attempting to
smuggle stimulant drugs from China to Japan.
Katsuo Mori, 64, from Fukushima Prefecture, had his appeal
for leniency rejected by the high people's court, the
equivalent of a high court in Japan.
Under the Chinese judicial system, defendants can appeal
only once.
Mori is the third Japanese national whose death sentence
has been finalized in China, which is taking a hard-line
stance against drug-related crimes.
According to Chinese official documents and people familiar
with the case, Mori was arrested in July 2003, when he
tried to take 1.25 kilograms of stimulant drugs from Dalian
airport in Liaoning province, the capital of which is
Shenyang.
Mori admitted most of the charges against him.
In February 2004, he was sentenced to death by a lower
people's court.
Death sentences were finalized in August for two other
Japanese who were also charged with attempting to smuggle
stimulant drugs from China to Japan.
Their sentences have yet to be carried out.
An execution requires prior approval of the Supreme
People's Court of China, which is equivalent to Japan's
Supreme Court.
If one of the Japanese is executed, he will become the
first Japanese criminal put to death overseas in the
post-World War II period.(IHT/Asahi: October
23,2007)