Indonesian prosecutors have requested the death penalty for eight Taiwanese allegedly involved in a drug smuggling operation last year.
Tipped off by Taiwanese police, Indonesian police intercepted a record 1 tonne haul of crystal methamphetamine imported from China during a raid in Anyer Beach, west of Jakarta, on July 13 last year.
During the operation, Indonesian police killed a Taiwanese man alleged to be the kingpin of the drug ring, after he refused to surrender, and arrested three others, identified as Chen Wei-cyuan (陳威全), Liao Guan-yu (廖冠宇) and Hsu Yung-li (徐勇立).
Five more Taiwanese were on July 15 arrested by Indonesian police in connection with the case.
While Chen, Liao and Hsu were responsible for taking delivery of the drugs in Indonesia, the other five were responsible for shipping the drugs to Indonesia on a Taiwanese cruise ship, Indonesian prosecutor Abun Hasbullah said.
Hsu was hired to pick up the drugs in Indonesia in exchange for 120 million rupiah (US$8,400), while Liao and Chen each got 80 million rupiah for unloading and packaging the drugs, Abun told a court hearing on Wednesday, during which he asked that the eight be sentenced to death.
In similar cases in the past, people convicted of trafficking more than 1kg of methamphetamine have usually been given death sentences. As part of its war on drugs, the Indonesian government is increasing the severity of punishments, especially for foreigners.
According to information from the Indonesian government, 11 Taiwanese suspects have been sentenced to death in drug trafficking cases over the past few years, while five others have been killed during police operations.
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