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Translated by Shin-wei Chang

The Indonesia government has been cracking down on drugs since President Joko Widodo took office in 2014. In November 2015, the Attorney General Office of Indonesia demanded the death of 50 drug dealers, including three Taiwanese. This is the first time Taiwanese criminals have been sentenced to death in Indonesia.

The three Taiwanese, Luo Chih Chen, Chen Jia Wei and Wang An Kang, carried more than two kilograms of amphetamine respectively. Arrested at Jakarta International Airport, they were sentenced to death by the Indonesian district court, while the high court changed the original sentence into life imprisonment in 2015. However, the Supreme Court affirmed their death sentence last week.

In addition to the three Taiwanese, Indonesian police has arrested several Taiwanese drug traffickers that attempted to smuggle drugs into the country. Moreover, the police is targeting a transnational criminal group composed of Taiwanese and local Indonesians that runs a drug factory in Indonesia.

In response to the conviction, David Y. L. Lin, minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says he respects the Indonesia’s decision, but will attempt to learn more about the case with concerns of the rights of Taiwan citizens.

Indonesia is the biggest market for drugs in Southeast Asia with more than 4.5 million drug users. President Joko Widodo believes that drugs will have a disastrous effect to the country’s younger generation, so he has been devoted to promoting anti-drug campaigns since he took office in 2014. Last January, Indonesian executed five drug traffickers from Brazil, Holland, Vietnam, Malawi and Nigeria, leading to the Brazil and Holland governments recalling their ambassadors.

Edited by Olivia Yang

Sources:
udn News
udn News
Apple Daily
CNA
“Three Taiwanese sentenced to death in Indonesia for drug trafficking" (Focus Taiwan)