Two Singaporeans sentenced to death for drug trafficking in China, foreign ministry providing assistance
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said two Singaporeans who were found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to death by a court in China earlier this year have been receiving consular assistance, including regular visits and ensuring they have "appropriate legal assistance".
Siti Aslina Junaidi, 35, and Mohd Yusri Mohd Yussof, 44, were arrested in Shenzhen in October 2015 and later convicted on unspecified charges, although news reports said it was for allegedly smuggling 11kg of methamphetamine in 28 women's handbags inside their suitcases.
Their death sentences were not meted out until July, nearly five years after their arrests. According to a CNN report, Yusri's sentence was suspended for two years and it might be downgraded to life imprisonment.
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The ministry said the Singapore Consulate-General in Guangzhou "has been rendering consular assistance" to both since their arrest in 2015, "including visiting them regularly until the Covid-19 outbreak this year and ensuring that they have, in accordance with their legal rights, access to necessary medical attention".
The ministry said it had also been in contact with the families of the two "to provide consular support, including as recent as this week".
Singapore's The Straits Times newspaper reported that a lawyer from the city state, M. Ravi, who has been advising on the case, said in a Facebook posting that a pro bono lawyer in China had stepped forward to help the two, despite the difficulties of finding proper legal representation in the country.
Ravi said he would work with the unidentified lawyer to have the case of Aslina, who still faces a death sentence, reviewed by an appeals court in China.
According to CNN, Aslina became involved in the alleged drug trafficking through a man only identified as Chibuzor Onwuka, who offered her up to US$3,000 to move various goods, including handbags and lingerie, between China and Cambodia.
Aslina then brought her friend, Mohd Yusri, into the scheme, but the two were arrested in July 2015. Both claimed they had no knowledge of the drugs inside their suitcases.
Chibuzo is said to be being "handled separately", according to court documents, the CNN report said.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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