MANILA, Philippines - despite an appeal for clemency from President Benigno Aquino III on humanitarian grounds China executed a Filipino man convicted on drug trafficking charges Thursday.Hours before he was put to death, the 35-year-old man, who was not identified, was allowed to meet briefly with his two siblings and two cousins who travelled to southern Guangxi province, Vice President Jejomar Binay told reporters.
The man was then led to a courtroom where the sentence was read and whisked away to the death chamber, located in Liuzhou, about two hours away from the prison, where he was given a lethal injection, he said.
- At 12:30 (p.m.) the Filipino was executed. He was arrested in 2008 at Guilin International Airport while trying to smuggle 3.3 pounds (1.5kg) of heroin from Malaysia.
Smuggling more than 1.76 ounces (50g) of heroin or other drugs is punishable by death in China. Although China went ahead with the execution despite Aquino's appeal for clemency, government officials have said they respect China's judicial system and that the execution would not hurt bilateral relations.- Overlapping territorial claims over potentially gas-rich islands in the South China Sea have strained ties between the Philippines and China.
- China is the world's biggest executioner, according to Amnesty International. Where as, Philippines and Cambodia are Southeast Asia's only nations to have abolished the death penalty.
In March, China executed three Filipino workers also convicted of smuggling heroin despite last-minute appeals and political concessions by Philippine leaders.The Philippine government said it was able to prove that a drug syndicate had taken advantage of the Filipinos.
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