Frenchman executed by China for drug trafficking
Frenchman executed by China for drug trafficking
Our Foreign StaffSun, April 5, 2026 at 5:27 PM UTC
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Chan Thao Phoumy (left) was executed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou
A French citizen convicted of drug trafficking has been executed in China after being kept on death row for more than 15 years.
Chan Thao Phoumy, 62, was executed in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, despite French authorities’ clemency appeals, the French foreign ministry said.
Chan, born in Guangzhou but later a naturalised French citizen, was one of 89 suspects arrested in 2005 for drug trafficking before being jailed for life in 2007.
He was handed the death penalty in 2010 by a court in his home town for his role in a 100 million yuan (£11m) drug operation that made, transported and dealt crystal methamphetamine in China.
China’s threshold for the death penalty is 50g (1.8oz) of heroin or methamphetamine.
The ministry’s statement expressed “consternation” and added: “We particularly regret that Mr Chan’s defence did not have access to the final court hearing, which constitutes a violation of his rights.”
“We extend our condolences to his family, whose grief we share,” it said.
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In a short statement that did not mention Chan by name, the Chinese embassy in Paris said that China “treats defendants of all nationalities equally, handles all cases impartially and strictly in accordance with the law”.
France abolished the death penalty in 1981, and has become a vigorous campaigner against its use and for its abolition everywhere.
China’s use of executions – carried out by firing squads or lethal injections – is shrouded in secrecy but has long been extensive. Amnesty International says China is the world’s leading executioner, believed to sentence and put to death thousands of people annually.
In December, China executed a former senior banker for accepting £116m in bribes in a corruption purge by Xi Jinping, the president.
Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of the asset management firm China Huarong International Holdings, was killed in the northern city of Tianjin.
According to prosecutors, Bai abused his position in the state-owned offshore investment company between 2014 and 2018, having accepted a “huge amount” of bribes totalling 1.1 billion yuan.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
