At least 66 Filipinos face the death penalty in China for drug smuggling, the Philippine foreign ministry said on Sunday. The ministry revealed the statistics following China's controversial December 29 execution of a British national convicted of drug smuggling.
Nine of the Filipinos face execution with no chance of reprieve while 57 were sentenced with possible reprieve, said Foreign Under-secretary Esteban Conejos. Another 30 Filipinos are serving life imprisonment, while 44 are serving lesser terms of up to 50 years on drug charges. Another 55 still have cases pending, he added.
However he said Chinese judicial authorities in the past had "demonstrated remarkable forbearance and accommodation" towards Filipinos charged with drug smuggling. He said the Philippines also had to show it was making an effort to stem cases of Filipinos being used as "drug mules" to smuggle narcotics into China.
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