Two women in Vietnam sentenced to death
HANOI - Two women in northern Vietnam have been sentenced to death for heroin dealing, a court official said Wednesday.
Nguyen Thi Chuc and Le Thi Thanh were convicted of illegally trading 1.83 kilograms (4 pounds) and 0.82 kilogrammes (1.8 pounds) of heroin respectively from late 2003 until they were arrested in May last year, said presiding judge Ta Gia Luong.
The two-day trial ended Tuesday.
The court also sentenced three others to life imprisonment, and seven others received sentences ranging from two years to 20 years on the same charges, he said.
Nine of the 12 convicted were women.
The defendants have 15 days to appeal their sentences.
Vietnam has some of toughest drug laws in the world. Possessing, trading or trafficking more than 600 grams (1.3 pounds) of heroin or 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of opium are punishable by death or life in prison.
About 100 people are sentenced to face the firing squad in Vietnam each year, many of them on drug-related offenses.
The Associated Press - September 21, 2005.
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