Society
One dead in violent attack as naked man allegedly steals car, goes on rampage
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HCM CITY — The HCM City People’s Court today confirmed the death penalty for a Philippine woman who had trafficked 1.5 kilogrammes of cocaine to Việt Nam in 2013, overturning an appeals court verdict that had struck down her original death sentence.
Donna Buenagua Mazon, 41, was convicted of “illegally transporting cocaine”.
She was arrested at the city’s Tân Sơn Nhất Airport on December 31, 2013, arriving on a flight from the Philippines with the drugs hidden in her luggage.
She had told the police she did not know the two packets given to her by a friend contained cocaine. Her friend had promised to pay her US$3,000 for carrying the packets, she had admitted.
She had originally been sentenced to death in August 2014, but the verdict was overturned on appeal two months later.
But based on new evidence gathered by investigators, the court sentenced her to death.
In sentencing her, it said drugs led to other social evils and caused serious consequences for the economy and the community, and thus a drug offence needed tough sentencing. — VNS
