Any Sympathy For This Guy?

[ToraToraTora]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-46872651

[bhg481]

None at all.

[woofgang]

whatever he did or did not do, he seems to be being used as a pawn in a nasty game and surely that can't be right?

[jno]

if the court verdict was correct, not a lot.

If however it was a kangaroo court aimed at sezing and killing a random Canadian hostage, yes, lots.

[Rockrose]

If that is the normal sentence for the crime then I have no sympathy, but if it is been handed to him as part of a point scoring exercise then I feel very uneasy as to where this will finish.

[ToraToraTora]

jno, he was convicted of smuggling 500lb of chrystal meth.

[murraymints]

do the crime.....

[aelmpvw]

indirectly he could be considered to be a serial killer so good riddance

[jno]

that's not quite what it says.

The Guardian gives a bit more detail

"The court statement said Schellenberg was part of a failed attempt to smuggle 225kg of methamphetamine to Australia by hiding the drugs in tyres."

And I have no idea if even that much is true. Chinese authorities have suddenly started arresting Canadians lately, following the detention of the Huawei woman in Canada. I remain very suspicious of the whole thing.

[ToraToraTora]

jno he was arrested and trialed long before the Chinese woman was arrested in Canada. He was initially given 15 years, that was changed on appeal.

[ChillDoubt]

Sceptical about this, just over the circumstances.
If he was one of those types that idiotically believe they can swan through Customs with this stuff in their holdall then I’ve no sympathy in the slightest.

Is he the only one on trial? Is he indeed the only foreigner in a supposed conspiracy?
Due to the lack of detail I can only surmise that the Chinese have indeed initiated a little payback but would prefer a lot more information about the case.

[ChillDoubt]

......but again I’ll caveat that with:
If he is just a tourist as claimed then again, as ever I’m always perplexed by those who want to travel to countries with less than glowing human rights records, coupled with a disregard for foreign nationals and the usual diplomatic channels when said ‘tourists’ are accused of falling foul of the law.
There are plenty of far safer places in the world to visit!

[jim360]

The fact that this guy's sentence was changed from 15 years to death means that yes, I *do* have some sympathy. It is at the very least suspicious that the sentence was increased in the middle of a wider diplomatic dispute between China and Canada. For even a drug dealer to pay for that with his life is wrong -- he's no longer being punished for the crime of drug dealing, but for being Canadian.

[naomi24]

If he hasn’t broken the law, my question is ‘Why him?’ According to Wiki, China with almost 60 million foreign visitors per year is the fourth most visited country in the world so hardly unknown on the tourist route.

[Old_Geezer]

Some. No one should be murdered by the State.

[jno]

naomi, the short answer is, or might be, because he's Canadian.

[Jackdaw33]

My gut feeling is that the sentence won't be carried out but he may get a longer jail term. It's basically a game of diplomatic chess.

[naomi24]

jno, could be ...

[youngmafbog]

No sympathy whatsoever.

The world wont miss his sort.

[hereIam]

No really, no.

[hereIam]

^ 'Not'