WEDNESDAY-5TH DECEMBER 2007-UMS STUDENT RECEIVES SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCE IN CHINA

UMS student receives suspended death sentence in China
BEIJING:
Umi Azlim Mohamad Lazim, the Kelantanese woman caught for smuggling nearly three kilogrammes of heroin into China’s southern Guangdong province, received a suspended death penalty in May. She was sentenced to death with a two- year reprieve by the Shantou Intermediate Court, Roslan Abdul Rahman, Malaysian Consul-General in Guangzhou, said when contacted yesterday. “Our consulate officials have been visiting her before and after the trial,” he said. Umi Azlim had pleaded guilty to trafficking in 2.983kg of heroin at the airport in Shantou, a port city in the northern tip of Guangdong. In China, all death sentences are reviewed by the Supreme Court, which was reassigned the role on Jan 1 2007 after a gap of 26 years. The family of the 24-year-old University Malaysia Sabah graduate was informed by Wisma Putra of her case, her mother told the media in Malaysia. Meanwhile, the Royal Malaysia Police will establish contact with the Chinese Government to get more information on a drug smuggling case involving a Kelantanese woman who has been convicted by a Chinese court. Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Ismail Omar said there were international drug syndicates using Malaysian nationals, especially women, as tools to traffic in drugs overseas. The syndicates had been found operating behind other activities and employing various tactics including offering jobs with lucrative income as a lure, he told reporters at the Kelantan Police Contingent Headquarters yesterday. Many Malaysians had been tricked without them knowing, he said. “We can only advise people in the country to be careful and be more alert,” he added. According to the woman’s mother, Umi Slaia Ibrahim, 45, her daughter worked for a company selling foot massage equipment owned by one “Datuk Anas” in Kuala Lumpur. Umi Azlim was sent to conduct business dealings overseas because she was fluent in English but the family lost contact with her in January, the mother said on Monday. Fearing something had happened to her daughter, Umi Slaia went to the Immigration Department to seek assistance in locating Umi Azlim but she was told to refer the matter with the Foreign Ministry. In a letter dated July 12, the Foreign Ministry informed Umi Slaia that her daughter was being held in China since Jan 19 and had been sentenced to death for smuggling drugs into China. Umi Slaia said that based on testimonies by Umi Azlim and other witnesses and letters produced in court, she was convinced that her daughter had been tricked by a Nigerian. Ismail, who is here for a two-day visit, said: “We will contact the Chinese government to investigate the case further. We respect the laws of foreign countries; everything needs to be done according to procedures, “In this case, she can still appeal. We will try our best to assist,” he said. Umi Azlim’s is not the first case of a Malaysian being held overseas for drug offences. Recent reports said a mass communication student of Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Cyberjaya, Raja Munirah Raja Iskandar, 22, has been sentenced to seven years’ jail by a Japanese court for attempting to smuggle 690 grammes of syabu at the Narita airport on Dec 20 last year. Her mother, Karimah Mamat, 46, said an Iranian man whom she knew only as Milad, had offered Munirah a monthly salary of RM9,000 if she took up a a job as a public relations officer with his company in Japan. Police statistics show that there are over 40 cases of Malaysian women being imprisoned in a number of countries for drug smuggling. - Bernama