China executes Briton over drugs

[dave.m]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8433285.stm

His daughter Leilla Horsnell said: "I am shocked and disappointed that the execution went ahead with no regards to my dad's mental health problems,

His daughter has said drug smugglers in Poland convinced him they would make him a popstar in China.

What was the family doing if, as they claim, he was mentally ill, letting a 53 year old man go to Poland and then to China to be a 'Popstar'.

If he wasn't mentally ill, then tough, he should have known the rules.
If he was mentally ill then the family should suffer the guilt for the rest of their lives for failing to look after him.

Either way a sad case but it is not so long ago that Singapore executed a Briton and an Aussie for drug smuggling.
They say 'don't do it on penalty of death' and they mean it.

 

[Whitespirit66]

He's no loss to society.

Saying that, we will now have to put up with all the Guardianista/Amnesty International/bleeding heart/liberal/do-gooders being wheeled out to drone on about it in the media.

 

[ellal]

I don't suppose the apparent 30 minute trial and lack of translation bothers some then...

Funny that, given most of us live in countries that have a more rigourous legal process for a speeding ticket !

 

[RedHerring]

A report from the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said that China's Supreme People's Court had not been provided with any documentation proving that Mr Shaikh had a mental disorder.

I think if there had been any documentation then a) it would have been provided and surely UK government would have had records which they would have provided and demonstrated, and
b) the Chinese government would have had difficulty in denying the mental state of the individual.

I do not condone the "perceived" lack of accountability or our western ideas of justice. But there are documented records or there aren't. And to claim an inability to stand trial on a "new" basis of mental instability when there were no prior documented evidence is asking for some kind of leniency from the Chinese court.

I don't think that the UK government were doubting the verdict of the trial, just the punishment which it would be obliged to do for any capital punishment in any country for any crime.

 

[ColJack]

I don't suppose the apparent 30 minute trial and lack of translation bothers some then...

Funny that, given most of us live in countries that have a more rigourous legal process for a speeding ticket !

it's not more rigorous, it's more lenient..
you spend 4 days confirming your name and address so they make sure they got the right guy..

over there if you're caught with suitcase full of drugs, your smuggling drugs.. end of..

the trail only needed to be to following sentences..

"name? "
"is this your suitcase?"
"guilty.. off with his head.."

 

[RedHerring]

In a statement, Mr Brown said: "I condemn the execution of Akmal Shaikh in the strongest terms... I am particularly concerned that no mental health assessment was undertaken."

Was Mr G Brown referring to the Chinese authorities or perhaps about the UK services.

Well was an assessment ever done by the UK services???
This man was after all 53 years old and no mention has been made of when he developed a Bipolar condition.

Which incidentally causes manic depression. I doubt if that prevents one from telling right from wrong.

 

[ellal]

不合作的方式 -do you understand that?

If not, you'd have no idea what the question was...

Oh, and I'll be fair - you've got 30 mins to work it out..

 

[Bodgeit and scarper ltd]

we should make a trade deal with china, we import there goods, they import our drug dealers and other forms of lowlife "MP's" and deal with them their way.

 

[roughcaster]

We're far too soft on criminals in this country. We send a mass murderer (Lockerbie bomber) home, to a heroes welcome,, we let sex offender Peter Tobin out of prison to go on and become a serial killer,, we let murderers, rapists etc out of prison to go shopping, or for weekend home visits, and then abscond. We give them thousands of pounds in compensation for having to empty their own ****e pots etc.

Punishment in this country is an "expensive joke". People who go abroad and commit a crime, knowing the ultimate penalty they might face in that country, only have themselves to blame,,,, it's no good trying to conjure up last minute excuses for mercy,,,, and yes,,, i would support the death penalty in this country for the likes of Tobin and other scum who are proved beyond any doubt to be guilty of the crime/s.

Roughcaster.

 

[RedHerring]

they import our /.... ..../ other forms of lowlife "MP's"

Except there may be a real case of mental disturbance then. Genuine Bipolar condition......the manic phase......full of their own importance and believing that they are special!

 

[Deluks]

Rather angry at some of the comments made here. It appears that some of you agree with Chinese law and wouldn't object to Britain becoming a Communist totalitarian state. Looking forward to kicking Gordo out of office next year? If you were living in China you'd be put into a roach infested cell just for speaking it out loud.

Bi-polar disorder is not the same as just having mild or manic depression. Not even close, not even the same ballpark, not even the same planet, much like the folks who suffer from it. Having a family member and a personal friend who suffer from the condition, believe me that when in full swing these people are in a fantasy world of their own.
Writing a song to bring about world peace? That's exactly the kind of fantasist idea that would come from a sufferer of bi-polar disorder.

As far as we know there has been no proof submitted of any mental illness, but surely it should have at least been looked into?

If you believe that this guy should've been killed without a full assesment being made on his mental condition then you are basically saying lets kill as the spastics and be done with. Much like the Nazis did.

As for 'lets kill all the drug dealers' this guy was a mule, in other words expendable to the real gangsters. They pick on the gullible, vulnerable, poor and stupid (ie: mental) to transport drugs from country to country. Believe me, the death of this guy won't trouble the men in suits as much as the fact that they've just lost 4 kilos of heroin.

 

[oompah]

. It appears that some of you agree with Chinese law and wouldn't object to Britain becoming a Communist totalitarian state..

We are well on the way when a innocent man is executed on the London
underground with no one being made accountable.

 

[roughcaster]

an innocent man is executed on the London
underground with no one being made accountable.

And executed without any evidence of guilt,,,, let alone getting a trial.

Roughcaster.

 

[RedHerring]

Deluks, I hope I can understand your feeling of offence. None was intended. I can also understand your outrage because of your feeling of offence.
But dealing with your points:

It appears that some of you agree with Chinese law and wouldn't object to Britain becoming a Communist totalitarian state

I have no personal experience of China (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Thailand, yes) but I would imagine that the majority of Chinese laws are much the same for any other country and drug smuggling is a crime by any standards. It does not mean that I ( & I'm sure most) do not agree with 'political crimes' nor do I wish to live in a communist state. I think if you arrive at that conclusion from the posts on here, that is a 'bridge too far'

I did not wish to give any impression that Bipolar condition is any small matter. However, I thank that if people are exploiting a condition as an excuse for behaviour, and the person does not suffer from that condition, then your outrage should be directed at those people.

As far as we know there has been no proof submitted of any mental illness

Exactly. It's a little late now to claim a medial condition, and without any documentative support, not even a mention of appropriate treatment that he should have been receiving. If he had escaped detection, would the relatives, authorities and charities be happy to explain away the damage caused by him to others' relatives as " well he wasn't well", he ought to be forgiven. Surely as the op said

If he was mentally ill then the family should suffer the guilt for the rest of their lives for failing to look after him.

this guy should've been killed without a full assesment being made on his mental condition

Well no! No-one has said that!

you are basically saying lets kill as(all) the spastics and be done with

That's unfair!

this guy was a mule, in other words expendable to the real gangsters

Accepted, no comment.

 

[Homesafe]

Which incidentally causes manic depression. I doubt if that prevents one from telling right from wrong.

The above highlighted statement is too true , and these scum drug dealers will claim anything under the sun to get away with their crimes , and their families usually back them up all the way.

play with fire and you deserve to get burned , If we had something along the capital punishment lines here for serious crimes like this, it would probably halve the criminal activity overnight .