Taiwanese man surnamed Jiang, who was 18 at the time of the offence, was sentenced to six years and six months for transporting cannabis and then lost his appeal against that term.[1] The Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court rejected his appeal and left the six-year-six-month sentence in place, with a further appeal still available.[1]
Jiang had answered a Facebook job advertisement offering NT$40,000-50,000 for carrying goods from abroad on someone else’s behalf.[1] He flew to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, where he collected a suitcase containing 18 packages of cannabis weighing 9,037 grams.[1] He flew back with the suitcase on 6 December and was caught with the drugs when he landed at Kaohsiung International Airport.[1]
The first-instance court convicted him of jointly transporting a Category Two narcotic.[1] On appeal he argued that he had just turned 18, was naive, had confessed during investigation and trial, and that the original sentence was too heavy, asking for a second reduction on grounds deserving sympathy.[1] The appeal court held that more than nine kilograms was an enormous quantity that would gravely harm public health and order if sold, found no disproportionate hardship warranting sympathy, and ruled the original sentence appropriate and proportionate.[1]
