China Executes French Citizen Convicted of Drug Trafficking

DID Press: Chinese authorities announced that a French national sentenced to death for drug trafficking was executed today, Sunday, April 5, just one day after France formally criticized the judicial process in the case.

The Chinese Embassy in France issued a brief statement asserting that the country’s judiciary treats defendants “without discrimination based on nationality.” The executed individual, Chan Tao Fumi, 62, faced the final sentence after roughly 20 years in prison.

France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “deep regret” that the defendant’s legal representatives were not allowed to attend the final court session, which Paris described as a violation of his legal rights.

Chan, born in Guangzhou, later obtained French citizenship. He was arrested in 2005 as part of a crackdown on 89 suspects in a major drug trafficking network. Initially sentenced to life imprisonment in 2007, a court in his hometown later issued a death sentence in 2010 for his key role in a large-scale methamphetamine production and distribution operation valued at approximately 100 million yuan.

China is known for having some of the strictest drug laws in the world. Under Chinese law, possession of more than 50 grams of heroin or methamphetamine can carry the death penalty, with higher quantities generally leading to execution.