RP to appeal death sentence in M'sia

RP to appeal death sentence in M'sia

PHILIPPINES: The Philippines will appeal a death sentence imposed by a Malaysian court on a Filipino sailor caught carrying illegal drugs, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Friday.

Foreign Undersecretary Jose Brillantes issued urgent instructions to the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to exhaust all legal means to help Filipino sailor Nelson Diana, who was sentenced to death by hanging by a Malaysian lower court on Wednesday, the DFA statement said.

Brillantes told the embassy to ask Diana's court-appointed lawyer to immediately appeal to the Malaysian Court of Appeals, the DFA said.

In his report to the department, Philippine Charge d'Affaires Luis Cruz said police at Kuala Lumpur International Airport found 508.6 grams of cocaine inside Diana's briefcase when he arrived at the airport on Aug. 22, 2002, for a connecting flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

Under Malaysian law, possession of more than 40 grams of illegal drugs is considered drug trafficking, a crime that carries a mandatory death penalty. --AP