Angolan sentenced to death for smuggling 1.1kg of heroin
Angolan sentenced to death for smuggling 1.1kg of heroin
TANGERANG (JP): Tangerang District Court sentenced on
Wednesday an Angola national to death for trafficking drugs
earlier in January.
Twenty-eight-year-old Thomas Daniel went on trial for
smuggling 1.125 kilograms of heroin into the country in 64
capsules concealed in his stomach.
In a final hearing presided over by Judge S. Djuma, it was
revealed that the defendant was arrested on Jan. 22, 2000 at the
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, minutes after he
disembarked from Singapore Airlines flight number SQ 164, plying
the Bangkok-Jakarta route.
"Customs and Excise officials suspected Daniel's comportment
as he was anxious to leave, sweating profusely and looking pale.
The officers then detained him for further drug tests and took
him to the hospital," judge Djuma said.
He said Daniel was asked to eat papayas and officials later
found the 64 capsules in his excrement.
Daniel eventually admitted that he was told to smuggle the
heroin by a man named U. Chukwu in Bangkok and that he was
promised a U.S. visa if he delivered the packages to one of the
guests at Hotel Petamburan in Central Jakarta, the judge said.
The defendant was charged under Narcotics Law No. 22/1997,
which carries the death penalty or a maximum life imprisonment
and a fine of Rp 1 billion (US$112,360).
"Although he behaved politely and showed remorse during the
trial, there are no mitigating circumstances for him as he has
committed a flagrant violation of the Narcotics Law.
"Defendant Daniel contributed to a crime that ruins the
generation of a country," Djuma said.
The death penalty came as a shock to Daniel as the prosecutor
only demanded 15-year imprisonment and a Rp 5 million fine. He
burst into tears and held his head down when his lawyer Hosain
Tuheru conveyed the verdict to him.
Hosain told the court that his client was considering an
appeal of the sentence.
Wednesday's death sentence was the fourth to be imposed on
defendants involved in drug related cases this year by the
Tangerang District Court.
No Indonesians, however, have received death sentences for
similar crimes. (41/edt)