lethal injection and not the bullet.

what's all this fuss about then?

Caught trafficking 4kg of heroin and according to China the guy has no history of mental illness. Seems fair enough to me.

according to China the guy has no history of mental illness.

Must be true then, China wouldn't lie over a human rights issue would they?
Oh, err…

I dont see how they would be stupid enough to lie about something like that though.

Will Self got busted with some weed at Kirkwall Airport in Orkney. He went before the sherriff in court and pleaded guilty. Adding, 'It's a fair cop Guv'. The sherriff wasn't best pleased.

Seems fair to me, I only wish the EU had the same approach to drug traffickers, the world would be a better place.

Yeah the world would be a better place if we adopted China's approach to justice and human rights. 🙄

Some of the contributors to this site make Nick Griffin seem sensible, FFS the guy was nuts, a complete wack job, he thought he was going to be a pop star in China and was also going to start an airline in Poland. Yes he got caught but come on don't any of you have any compassion.

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(Bloody foreigners, coming over here, wanting to change the laws to suit their own culture and complaining when they get punished – if you cant do the time, when in Rome etc.)

Pigface – there are two sides to every story. China says he had no history of mental illness, his family say that he did – the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

well, he either did or didn't – I can't see where any middle ground would be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFv0eS5p9hs

by all accounts written and performed by Akmal Shaikh.
maybe the Chinese heard it?

Middle ground in this case would be the degree to which they were able to take the responsibility for their actions i.e. severity of mental illness.

Same illness as Stephen Fry – would they execute him if he got caught trafficking 4kg on Heroin?

The Chinese have nothing to gain* from letting him off, but quite a lot to loose if their citizens see one rule for them and one rule for us…

* China will be the next Superpower, they are beginning to flex their international muscles, this is one more example of International power Politics.

Lethal injection….

Shame they didn't pump the **** full of the heroin he was smuggling – ironically fitting me thinks.

FFS the guy was nuts, a complete wack job, he thought he was going to be a pop star in China and was also going to start an airline in Poland

And you believe it because you've read it in the news this week? Other than his family saying he had mental problems, he doesn't appear to have been properly diagnosed nor treated for any mental illness in the past. A doctor that spent some brief time with him while he was in jail in China said he was 99% sure he was mentally ill, however time in a Chinese prison might have done that to him.

And as for the popstar angle…

Deluded, talentless nobody is convinced they're talented and have the potential for a massive career by sinister backers and duped into selling their soul.

Sounds like every x-factor contestant…

some say the punishment is to harsh in China, but I for one, feel so much safer walking the streets of Beijing late on a Saturday night, than some of the cities in England.
It is well known that China doesn't stand for drugs, and you should know full well what the law is, before going to any other country.

some say the punishment is to harsh in China, but I for one, feel so much safer walking the streets of Beijing late on a Saturday night, than some of the cities in England.

Yeah unless you are a political dissident or protestor. I guess maybe the streets are safer in Saudi as well – anyone fancy going to live there?

Same illness as Stephen Fry – would they execute him if he got caught trafficking 4kg on Heroin?

Dunno – but Dawn French got caught smuggling drugs in Heathrow over Christmas! She dropped her bag going down the green lane and when she bent over to pick it up the customs official saw 50 kilos of crack!

LOL

Pigface – there are two sides to every story. China says he had no history of mental illness, his family say that he did – the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

Yeah I thought similar until I read this article in the handwringer this morning.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/28/akmal-shaikh-execution-china-mental-illness

There's loads of holes in this story, it's hard to know what to believe. Anyone who commits a serious crime could use the excuse of mental illness, otherwise they probably wouldn't do the crime in the first place. Still a shame that people have to die for the sake of someones addiction.

Grumm,
As a UK citizen living in China, I believe it's my responsibility and duty to represent my country well.
I choose to stay out of their business and don't get muddled up in their affairs.

Therefore I can go out on a Saturday night, look around, without the risk of someone wanting to punch my light out, because I stared a second too long

First line of the last paragraph – Never been assessed by a psychiatrist…

And?

And what? You cant go giving a diagnosis of bi-polar if the guy has never seen a shrink.

And what? You cant go giving a diagnosis of bi-polar if the guy has never seen a shrink.

They wouldn't let him see a shrink.

Chinese law says a defendant's mental state should be taken into consideration if they are accused of serious crimes, but the Chinese authorities have refused repeated requests for Shaikh to be evaluated by a doctor.

Try reading some of those emails linked to in the article. Mind you given the outpourings of hatred on here I wouldn't be surprised if some people support executing him because he was mentally ill.

I choose to stay out of their business and don't get muddled up in their affairs.

Oh well that's ok then.

Well yes I suspect you can. If you phoned up mountain rescue saying you'd fallen off a bike and that bits of bone were sticking out of your leg. You'd hardly take as credible argument that you can't give a diagnosis that it was broken because you hadn't seen a consultant yet.

That's a bit different. A broken leg is tangible.

If he has never seen a psychiatrist, how does anyone know he has bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia etc etc??

behaving odd, and writing songs about rabbits are no the only criteria for diagnosing a mh disorder

Ian Munro – that's a pile of mince and you know it.

SO how can the family say he suffers from Bi-Polar if he's never been diagnosed?

Maybe he was diagnosed by someone on here? That would be absolute proof, and a firm correct diagnosis 🙂

I know it's the same level as argument that you employ Goan 🙂

No it isnt.

If he has never seen a psychiatrist, how does anyone know he has bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia etc etc??

So why not let him see a psychiatrist then?

Arrested September 12, 2007
Found guilty and sentenced to death On October 29, 2008
Appeal October 13, 2009 – first instance of legal team mentioning 'mental illness' as a mitigating factor.
By that time no way of determining the accused's health status at the time of the offence as their was no previous treatment record or family history……

If the family were concerned then surly he would have assessed by someone before the drug traffic offence – pleading he is mentaly ill when he has been arrested is abit late.

The guy has been caught and been delt with as per the law of the country (all be it an oppresive country) – Learning point don't take drugs to china.

Ok, lets assume he was mentally ill, and should have been diagnosed. Would the condition of bipolar disorder make him think that possessing 4kg of Heroin was ok?
i think not. How much effort did he have to go to get the 4kg of Heroin? What were the circumstances of him possessing the Heroin? Did he buy it? Was he part of a smuggling ring?
I suspect all of these issues were investigated before he was sentenced.

Mental health problem or no mental health problem. Possession of Heroin in China is not something anyone should be doing.

Grumm

So why not let him see a psychiatrist then?

If the Chinese government is as morally corrupt as a lot of people think, would it have made any difference? A state approved psychiatrist could have been instructed to say there was nothing wrong him.