A court in China has sentenced a Canadian to death for drug smuggling in a ruling which will worsen a diplomatic row between the two countries.
Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was originally given a 15‑year jail term in 2018 but after an appeal the court said the sentence was too lenient.
Yesterday’s ruling comes weeks after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, a top official at Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, on a request from the US.
Canada condemned the latest ruling.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it is of extreme concern to them as a government that China has chosen to begin to arbitrarily apply the death penalty, as in this case facing a Canadian.
China was angered by the arrest of 46-year-old Meng, the daughter of Huawei's founder, and the case has soured its relations with both Canada and the US.
She was granted bail last month.
China has since detained two Canadian nationals, accusing them of endangering national security.
[Source: BBC]
