Court to sentence drug dealers to death

Court to sentence drug dealers to death

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: The Mataram District Court said on Monday it was ready to sentence drug dealers to death if the defendants were proven guilty under the prevailing laws.

"The Mataram court handed down a life sentence in 1998 to a defendant who was found guilty of possessing 6.3 kilograms of hashish. Now we are prepared to implement a maximum penalty of death for those involved in narcotics," Saodah, a deputy chairwoman of the court, said.

She, however, said the move required "moral support" from antidrug activists and other people.

The court has been accused of being reluctant to impose the death penalty on suspects charged with illegally possessing and distributing drugs.

But Saodah denied the accusation, arguing that prosecutors have so far failed to produce sufficient evidence for judges to hand out death sentences. --Antara