Members of drug gang change pleas

Law experts say convicted killers are trying to delay their executions

Six members of a notorious Myanmar drug gang convicted last year of murdering 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River withdrew their earlier guilty pleas and denied plotting the murders at an appeal hearing in the Yunnan Provincial Higher People's Court on Thursday.

Last month, they had pleaded guilty at the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming, Yunnan province, and four of them were sentenced to death.

Of the other two, Zha Bo received the death sentence with a reprieve, and Zha Tuobo was sentenced to eight years in prison.

All are now appealing their sentences to a higher court and revoking their guilty pleas, which experts suggest is a legal ploy to delay their executions.

The court's decision on the appeal will be handed down at a later date.

Naw Kham, head of the drug gang, said on Thursday he "neither plotted nor ordered the murder" of Chinese sailors in October 2011.

"I have done nothing wrong. I didn't order them to commit murder, and I only heard about it afterward," he told the court.

The other five defendants, all foreigners or stateless, also denied the crimes. They said they considered the intermediate court's sentences too harsh and appealed for leniency.

The Yunnan Provincial People's Procuratorate said the convictions are fair and the sentences are appropriate, considering the crime.

"We suggest the higher court reject their appeal for lenient sentences and uphold the previous verdict," the Yunnan provincial prosecuting department said at the hearing on Thursday.

In November, during the trial in Kunming, Naw Kham and the other gang members initially denied plotting the sailors' murders, but changed their pleas to guilty near the end of the trial and asked for lenient sentences.

They were charged with intentional homicide, kidnapping, transporting drugs and hijacking cargo ships, or a combination of those offenses. The court ordered them to compensate the victims' families 6 million yuan ($963,000).

Because of his guilty plea, Naw Kham did not expect to receive the death sentence, said Lin Li, his lawyer.

"He is willing to sell his private property for 6 million yuan to compensate the victims' families, and I think it's better to combine punishment with education, and give a lenient sentence," Lin said.

Yang Duoxu, the wife of Wang Guichao, one of the murdered sailors, said she hopes more arrests will be made.

"I really hope Chinese authorities will soon arrest the nine Thai soldiers who were involved," Yang said.

"I feel like the sky is falling, and I am caught in a living death," she said.

"My husband and I had been working on the cargo ship for more than 10 years. He earned 5,000 yuan a month, and I was a cook earning 3,000 yuan a month. Now I don't have the money to support my three children."

Nie Tao, director of the legal department under the Yunnan Public Security Bureau, said they are working to bring the Thai soldiers to justice.

"Thai police and prosecuting departments are stepping up efforts to speed up the legal processing of the nine Thai soldiers who colluded with Naw Kham's gang to plot the murder," Nie said.

"We are intensifying judicial operations with Thai police, and providing them with the evidence of the Thai soldiers' crimes," he said.

The gang's denial of the murders is aimed at delaying their execution, according to Hong Daode, law professor at China University of Political Science and Law.

"If sentenced to death, the local courts will refer the sentence to the Supreme People's Court for review, and after approval, it will be carried out," Hong said.

"There is no question the court should sentence them to death," he said. "The six criminals, headed by Naw Kham, used cruel means to illegally deprive other people's lives, and the consequences were serious."