2010-06-25 08:29

BEIJING - A total of 17,462 criminals involved in drug-related cases received sentences last year ranging from five years imprisonment to death, a 9 percent increase on the previous year, the country's top court said on Thursday.

College students covered in body paint hold banners during an anti-drug awareness event on Wednesday in Hefei, Anhui province. Yu Junjie / for China Daily

The rate of severe penalties in drug cases stood at 31 percent in 2009, 15 percent higher than all criminal cases, according to Sun Jungong, spokesman of the Supreme People's Court.

"We can see that severe penalties have played an important role in preventing drug crimes from spreading," he said.

In 2009, courts nationwide held trials for 50,928 drug-related cases, a 16.5 percent increase on the previous year. A total of 56,125 people involved received criminal punishments.

The top court also revealed that six criminals were executed on Wednesday for producing, smuggling and selling drugs.

In 2009, both the cases and amount of drugs seized leapt from the previous year. "There has also been an increase in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year," said Sun.

"It shows that the fight against drugs remains tough and difficult. "

To further curb drug crime, the top court has instructed courts across the country to continue to impose heavy sentences on drug dealers, especially repeat offenders.

"For those whose crime is severe enough to warrant the death sentence, the Supreme People's Court will resolutely approve the execution," Sun said.

Each time the death penalty is delivered by a lower court, the sentence has to be reviewed by the top court before the execution can take place.

According to statistics from the Supreme People's Court, most drugs in China are smuggled in from abroad, mainly from northern Myanmar and the Golden Triangle - the infamous drug-producing region that encompasses the mountains of Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

Pakistan and Afghanistan in the Golden Crescent region are also amongst the largest opium-producing areas in Asia.

Most of the world's heroin originated in the Golden Triangle, until early this century when Afghanistan became the world's largest producer.

"While traditional drugs like opium and heroin still constitute a large part of the market, there have been more and more new drugs in recent years, mostly methamphetamine (Ice) and ketamine (Special K)," said Gao Guijun, a judge for the Supreme People's Court.

"More criminals have been discovered producing the new drugs, which accounts for the rise in drug case," he added.

Among the drugs seized nationwide in 2009, about 59 percent were traditional drugs, a decrease of 7 percent from 2008, while about 40 percent were new drugs, a 7 percent rise on the previous year.

Two years ago, courts usually did not deliver death sentences to those making and selling new drugs, but an increasing number of criminals have been found producing and selling new drugs, Gao said.

"So we have started to impose the death penalty in those cases."

China Daily