2 sentenced to death, 71 jailed for drug-related crimes in China

A court in south China's Guangdong Province said Monday that it has sentenced two men to death for illegal drug manufacturing. The Intermediate People's Court of Guangzhou City, capital of Guangdong Province, ruled that Feng Guiquan, Li Yuxiong and Luo Songyao were found guilty of manufacturing methamphetamine from November 2010 to May 2011. Police arrested them on May 8, 2011 and confiscated 70.28 kg of methamphetamine that was 72.3 percent pure. Police also confiscated more than 620 kg of 0.24-percent pure methamphetamine at Luo's house. According to the court order, Feng received the death penalty, Li was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and Luo was sentenced to 15 years in jail and 200,000 yuan (32,620 U.S. dollars) of his personal property was confiscated. Also on Monday, the Guangzhou City Intermediate People's Court and 12 grassroots courts pronounced judgements in 66 drug-related cases involving more than 740 kg of drugs. Seventy-three people were sentenced for manufacturing, smuggling, selling or transporting drugs, and their sentences range from six months in jail to the death penalty.