[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

June 30



PAKISTAN:

Court announces death penalty of convict in murder case


Session court in Lahore on Tuesday has sentenced a suspect to death penalty 
while another one has to bear life imprisonment for killing as many as 2 people 
during dacoity bid, Dunya News reported.

As per details, investigation officer submitted a case challan in session court 
stating that the suspects Hanna Butt and Akram killed 2 people over resisting 
robbery bid and told the court that the criminals have been found guilty during 
investigation.

On the other hand, robbers' counsel denied the allegations and pleaded 
innocence in the case.

Subsequently, the court sentenced Hanna Butt to death penalty while Akram Butt 
has been sent to jail for life imprisonment.

(source: Dunya news)






GHANA:

Mahama frees 900 prisoners; 14 on death row sentence reduced


President John Mahama has freed some 900 prisoners ahead of tomorrow's Republic 
Day holiday.

Tomorrow marks Ghana's 55th year as a republic after it weaned itself from 
British colonial rule. The amnesty granted is a yearly activity exercised by 
the president.

Of the 900, 883 are 1st-time offenders who showed good behaviour after being 
sentenced. 14 out of the number who were on death row have also had their 
sentence reduced to life imprisonment.

A statement from the Interior Minister says the president expects them to be of 
good behaviour.

In 2013, some 900 prisoners were freed. Some 1104 others also gained their 
freedom in 2014.

The power to grant amnesty is stipulated under the Prerogative of Mercy in 
Article 72 of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

Article 72 of the Constitution states that "The president may, acting in 
consultation with the Council of State: grant to a person convicted of an 
offence a pardon either free or subject to lawful conditions; or discount low 
price

b. grant to a person a respite, either indefinite or for a specified period, 
from the execution of punishment imposed on him for an offence; or

c. substitute a less severe form of punishment for a punishment imposed on a 
person for an offence; or

d. remit the whole or part of a punishment imposed on a person or of a penalty 
or forfeiture otherwise due to Government on account on any offence."

(source: ghanaweb.com)






SINGAPORE:

Heroin trafficker fails in attempt to escape death penalty


A heroin trafficker who has been on death row for more than 4 years yesterday 
failed in his bid to escape the gallows, after the High Court found that he did 
not meet the criteria to be re-sentenced to life imprisonment.

Since Jan 1, 2013, 11 drug offenders have had their death sentences commuted 
thus.

Kester Ng Wei Ren, 54, is the 1st to have his application for re-sentencing 
dismissed, when he failed to convince the court he was a mere courier.

Ng was convicted in 2010 of trafficking in 23.38g of heroin and given the then 
mandatory death penalty. His appeal was dismissed later that year. In 2011, 
hangings were put on hold while the Government reviewed the death penalty 
regime. On Jan 1, 2013, new laws came into effect giving judges the discretion 
to sentence drug offenders to life imprisonment instead of a mandatory death 
penalty.

The lighter sentence, however, applies only to those who are couriers 
transporting or delivering drugs. They must also be certifed by the prosecution 
to have substantively assisted the authorities or found to be suffering from a 
mental abnormality.

Yesterday, Ng's lawyer Manoj Nandwani sought to show that he was a courier and 
the drugs were for his own consumption only.

But Deputy Public Prosecutor Hay Hung Chun argued that someone who meant to 
sell drugs cannot be considered to be a mere courier.

Ng was arrested by anti-narcotics officers on Aug 12, 2008, and found to have 
packets of heroin and methamphetamine, commonly known as Ice, on him. A search 
of a Geylang apartment, 1 of his 3 residential addresses, uncovered more drugs 
- Ice, Nimetazepam tablets and heroin - 2 weighing scales and more than $6,000 
in cash.

Ng faced 7 charges but the prosecution proceeded on only 1 charge of 
trafficking in 23.38g of heroin. Anyone convicted of trafficking in more than 
15g of the drug faces the death penalty.

He claimed he had intended to traffick only in 9.92g and the rest was for his 
own consumption.

(source: straitstimes.com)



MALAYSIA:

Malaysia reduces Pinay's death sentence to life imprisonment


The State Pardons Board in Selangor, Malaysia has commuted the death penalty 
imposed on a Filipina to life imprisonment, the Philippine Embassy in Kuala 
Lumpur said Tuesday.

A statement from the embassy said Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al-Haj, 
chairman of the State of Selangor Pardons Board, revised the sentence meted on 
Jacqueline Quiamno on June 15, following a request for clemency from the 
Philippine Embassy and her family.

Malaysian authorities arrested Quiamno in June 2005 for attempting to smuggle 5 
kilograms of cocaine at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, on the bidding 
of an African drug syndicate based in Hong Kong.

In November 2010, the Shah Alam High Court found Quiamno guilty of the charge. 
The Federal Court then affirmed the verdict in July 2013.

The Philippine Embassy said the commutation of Quiamno's sentence should bring 
relief for 3 other Filipinos on Malaysian death row - Gerry Saavedra Quijano 
and couple Timhar and Nurie Ong - who were also arrested for drug smuggling in 
2008 and 2005, respectively.

"Although the death penalty remains in the statute books of Malaysia, and local 
courts continue to impose it in grave offenses, there has been a reluctance to 
carry out the death penalty, or undertake execution, in recent years," the 
Philippine Embasy said.

In February, Sabah Governor Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Juhar Haji Mahiruddin 
also granted pardon to 8 Filipinos after remaining behind bars for 21 to 26 
years for trafficking drugs.

In October 2012, the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department vowed to look at 
staying death sentences for drug offenders pending the government's final 
decision on the abolition of the mandatory death penalty.

The last execution of a Filipino in Malaysia happened 22 years ago, for the 
crime of murder in Sabah, according to the Philippine Embassy.

(source: gmanetwork.com)






PHILIPPINES/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES:

Family prepare to visit Filipina maid on death row in UAE


Relatives of the Filipina maid who is facing the death penalty after being 
convicted of killing her Emirati employer are to travel here to offer her 
emotional support, a senior diplomat said on Tuesday.

Grace Princesa, the Philippines ambassador to the UAE, said her country's 
government was arranging for the parents of Jennifer Dalquez to fly to the UAE.

"We are now awaiting updates from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila 
on the matter," said Ms Princesa.

Charles Jose, a spokesman for the DFA, said his organisation was processing the 
required documents for the family of the convicted maid.

Dalquez, 28, who comes from General Santos City in the southern Philippines, 
was sentenced to death after stabbing her employer to death on December 7 last 
year.

She claimed the act was self-defence after her employer tried to rape her.

The Philippine embassy has since provided Dalquez with a defence lawyer to 
appeal against her death sentence.

Overseas Filipino workers who find themselves on the wrong side of the law are 
helped through the Philippine government's legal assistance fund.

Priority is usually given to the payment of lawyers to represent those accused 
of serious crimes or who are facing the death penalty.

"Her legal counsel has filed an appeal on the last week of May, and is 
currently preparing the 'Memorandum of Defence' for the appeal," Ms Princesa 
said.

The next hearing has been set for September 3 in Al Ain.

The Philippine labour secretary, Rosalinda Baldoz, who visited Dalquez in jail 
on June 18, said "she had high hopes" that the appeal would be successful, 
reported online news portal Rappler.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Manila meanwhile is 
providing educational assistance to Dalquez' 2 children.

"The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration has also extended monetary 
assistance to the family, despite the fact that she no longer is an Owwa 
member," Ms Princesa said.

Owwa is an attached agency of the Philippine???s labour department that 
provides assistance to overseas Filipino workers and their families.

Members pay a Dh92 fee every 2 years to receive financial, medical and 
educational benefits.

(source: The National)