Photo:VCG

A Chinese court on Friday sentenced a Canadian citizen to death for manufacturing and transporting illicit drugs, the second Canadian to receive the death sentence on drugs-related charges this week. 

The Foshan Intermediate People's Court in South China's Guangdong Province handed out the death sentence to Ye Jianhui, a Canadian citizen, in a ruling of a major case involve Ye and five other individuals.

Ye was found to have colluded with others to produce and transport illicit drugs between May 2015 and January 2016, according to media reports. Police seized more than 2 kilograms of drugs, including MDMA.

Ye's accomplice, Lu Hanchang, was sentenced to death on the same charge. Four other members of the gang received sentences of up to life imprisonment, the Yangcheng Evening News reported on Friday.

Ye's case came one day after the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court on Thursday sentenced another Canadian citizen Xu Weihong to death for producing drugs.

Responding to questions on the two cases, their impact on the already souring China-Canada relations as well as connections between the cases and Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou's case, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at Friday's media briefing that the Chinese judicial system handles cases independently and in accordance to Chinese law and legal procedures. 

Meng's case was a serious political incident, and China has urged Canada to immediately release Meng, Wang said. As for China-Canada relations, the responsibility for the difficulties in bilateral relations does not lie with China, and we urge Canada to take immediate and effective measures to correct its mistakes and make concrete efforts to put bilateral relations back on track, Wang added.

Global Times