A Canadian man has been sentenced to death in China for producing ‘265lbs of ketamine.
’ He became the third Canadian national to receive capital punishment in less than two years.
Xu Weihong’s punishment was announced by the Guangzhou Municipal Intermediate Court and said Wen Guanxiong, his accomplice, had been given a life sentence.
This comes as tensions escalate between Ottawa and Beijing over the arrest of a Huawei executive, Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, and her possible extradition to the US.
It was in December 2018 when Meng, who has permanent residency in Canada, was detained in Vancouver at the request of the US.
According to a report last week, the attorney general of Canada said that the requirements for extraditing the Huawei executive to the US on charges of bank fraud had been met.
Washington accuses the telecom giant of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violations of the United States sanctions – claims both China and Huawei deny.
A spokesperson for Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin, said there was no connection between current China-Canada relations and Xu’s sentencing.
Wang said at a briefing on Thursday: “I would like to stress that China’s judicial authorities handle the relevant case independently in strict accordance with Chinese law and legal procedures.
“This case should not inflict any impact on China-Canada relations.”
According to reports, authorities confiscated more than 266 pounds (120 kilograms) of ketamine from Xu’s home and another house.
Like other countries, China also imposes stiff penalties for producing and selling illegal drugs.
“Death sentences for drug-related crimes that are extremely dangerous will help deter and prevent such crimes,” Wang said. “China’s judicial authorities handle cases involving criminals of different nationalities in accordance with law.”
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Replaced!