When was the last time that you heard of a drug courier being referred to as a well-balanced individual with a all the trappings of a "normal" life? It seems quite obvious to me that it would be the kind of activity that people who are more on the fringes of society would engage in.
If you are carrying 4kg of heroin, as Shaikh was, you will inevitably end up being being paid a fraction of the drugs' street value to carry it. I do not know what the going rate is for this line of business and a few thousand euros is indeed a mere fraction of what that heroin's "retail" price is, however it is quite a bit of money to someone who was allegedly down and out and looking to make some quick cash.
Putting to the side the Chinese government's obnoxious attitude, what if we were to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that this guy were guilty (the only reason we're not, to be honest, is because he's a national of a western country)?
How should have China handled a situation in which an individual is caught smuggling 4kg (!?) of heroin?
If you are carrying 4kg of heroin, as Shaikh was, you will inevitably end up being being paid a fraction of the drugs' street value to carry it. I do not know what the going rate is for this line of business and a few thousand euros is indeed a mere fraction of what that heroin's "retail" price is, however it is quite a bit of money to someone who was allegedly down and out and looking to make some quick cash.
Putting to the side the Chinese government's obnoxious attitude, what if we were to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that this guy were guilty (the only reason we're not, to be honest, is because he's a national of a western country)?
How should have China handled a situation in which an individual is caught smuggling 4kg (!?) of heroin?
Shaikh's insanity (manic depressive) plea is the my-dog-ate-my-homework of criminal defenses and just doesn't cut it, especially considering the enormous amount of drugs that he was carrying. I don't think that he should have been put to death, but on the other hand, one must also respect China's judicial sovereignty, and I don't see how anything less than a particularly lengthy sentence (i.e. life imprisonment) in a Chinese jail would have been appropriate in this case.
