China death sentence over Dublin murder unlikely

A man sentenced to death by a Chinese court as a result of a Dublin murder is unlikely to be executed, according to sources in China.

Chen Li Ming (22) died from head injuries received in an altercation in Dublin in October 2002. Six Chinese nationals who fled Ireland while the gardaí were gathering evidence were subsequently arrested in China.

The six faced charges ranging from assault to murder and five were given sentences from 12 years , to life in prison. However in March last year the sixth member of the group Wang Hong Kai was sentenced to death, with a two year stay of execution.

The trials were expedited with the aid of the Garda file into the incident, which the Department of Foreign Affairs had forwarded to the Chinese authorities in 2009. The department sent the file on receipt of written assurance from the Chinese authorities that none of the six would face the death penalty for the killing.

The Chinese authorities have since asked the Irish to extradite a seventh man, who has since the 2002 incident become a naturalised Irish Citizen, to China to stand trial for the killing. The unnamed man was never charged in connection with the killing, as gardaí believed there was insufficient evidence.

It is understood the Irish authorities would be extremely reluctant to extradite an Irish citizen, particularly since they feel let down over previous assurances by the Chinese.

However sources in China have pointed out that when the death sentence is suspended for two years, in nearly all cases it means the person will not be executed, and the sentences is effectively commuted to a life sentence.

The two-year reprieve appears to be a way of imposing the death sentence without carrying out the sentence. Judges in China appear to use the sentence as a ‘non-death, death sentence’, and it’s a way of saying “we think you deserve to die, but will not execute you” said one source.

For example, Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced politician Bo Xilai, was sentenced to death suspended for two years, but it is widely known she will not be executed.

In these terms, the Chinese may not consider they have breached any agreements.

For those those sentenced to death without reprieve the sentence is more chilling as they are usually taken straight from the courtroom and executed. China executes more people every year than the rest of the world combined but data on exact numbers is a state secret.

In a series of letters between the Irish and Chinese authorities the Chinese side continues to press for extradition of the seventh man involved in the fatal incident. Failing this the Chinese want to see him stand trial in Ireland.

However the Irish stress they were given written assurances by the Chinese Embassy in Dublin that the death penalty would not feature in any trial, as it is not on the statute book here.

The Government has a policy of not extraditing people to jurisdictions where the alleged crimes on which the extradition was based could see them face the death penalty.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy said a message would be relayed to the relevant official who would decide if a comment would be forthcoming.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said no comment would be forthcoming on the case while the Department of Justice said it was considering the request for a comment, and may comment later. No response was available from the Government Press service at the time of writing.