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It was October 2015 and the letter said that Ismiraldha’s mother, Siti Aslinda Binte Junaidi, had been arrested in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on suspicion of drug trafficking, and could face the death penalty.
Ismiraldha I was surprised. She said she had little idea what her mother was doing in China, only that she had gone there looking for work, and while crying along with her aunt at the news, the 12-year-old still didn’t really understand what’s going on.
Almost five years later, Aslinda, now 35, and another Singaporean, Mohd Yusri Bin Mohd Yussof, 44, were convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to death in July 2020.
Yusri’s sentence was suspended for two years, which means he can be downgraded to life in prison. Aslinda – considered to have played a more active role in crime – he faces execution if his final appeal, which could be heard at any time, is unsuccessful.
Back in Singapore, her family is desperately trying to save her from this fate, through diplomatic channels and the Chinese legal system, where acquittals are incredibly rare.
“It has been very difficult to get a pro bono lawyer in China and the family cannot afford one,” said M. Ravi, a Singaporean lawyer who has been advising on the case. “I’ve been trying to link up with some international networks. I have to get a pro bono attorney, but his case is (moving) and we don’t know when he might get to the next court.”
“What if China suddenly decides to shoot him in weeks?”
Smuggling through Shenzhen
Both denied knowledge of the drugs.
Aslinda told the court how, while looking for work online in late 2014, she met a man named Chibuzor Onwuka, who offered her generous commissions to transport goods from China to Cambodia. About once or twice a month, Aslinda said she would collect goods in Guangzhou and fly with them to Phnom Penh.
It is unclear if Onwuka has been arrested, and court documents say only that his case was being “handled separately.” He could not be reached for comment.
The goods she was carrying were generally women’s lingerie, handbags, and toner cartridges, and although Aslinda admitted to having doubts about the plan, she told the court that she was convinced by Onwuka’s explanation that the handbags were very profitable as they were sold to prominent Cambodians.
In July 2015, Aslinda introduced Yusri to Onwuka and they began carrying items together. Onwuka paid them between $ 2,000 and $ 3,000 each per trip, they said, and also covered their airfare and hotel bills. When they were arrested, they had made two trips together.
At the trial, the judge He rejected the couple’s arguments that they did not know what was in the bags, ruling that they were aware or should have been aware of the contents given the “unusually high remuneration” for transporting goods abroad.
The convoluted way they were told to travel, from Guangzhou to Hong Kong via Shenzhen and then to Phnom Penh, should have also raised suspicions, the judge said, as direct flights to the Cambodian capital were available.
Ismiraldha called the case a “horrible mistake”, adding that his mother has a clean record in Singapore and would never have knowingly committed a crime.
“One thing I have to admit is that it is stupid,” he said. “If I was in my mother’s shoes, I would never have taken that job, (and) if I had known what I was doing, I would have scolded her. But I was only 12 at the time.”
While she was able to write to her mother, she said her letters seem to be controlled as they sometimes don’t arrive, so she is limited in the questions she can ask. In a recent letter, Ismiraldha said her mother complained that consular officials were unable to visit her for nearly a year, likely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Death penalty
Aslinda’s case is being appealed to the Guangdong High Court, her legal team said. If the court does not overturn the sentence, his death sentence could be carried out in a few weeks.
“Chinese law stipulates that all criminals are equal in the application of the law,” said spokesman Zhao Lijian. “China’s judicial authorities handle cases involving criminals of different nationalities in accordance with the law.”
“It all depends on diplomatic persuasion,” said Ravi, the lawyer, adding that “Singapore is quite close to China, but I have been trying to communicate with the Foreign Ministry and they have not been of much help. I should at least meet. with us asking what they can do, it’s very frustrating. ”
Singapore and China are among the minority of states that execute prisoners. In about 170 countries, it is not even an option. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has said that the death penalty “has no place in the 21st century.”
Ismiraldha said she was “worried and scared”, unsure whether the work she and others are doing in Singapore will have any effect on her mother’s fate in China.
“Everyone deserves a second chance,” he said.
