DRUG DEALER WINS REPRIEVE

A twice-convicted drug dealer, originally from China, has been temporarily
spared deportation from Canada because under China's harsh laws he could
face execution or imprisonment if returned.

Hung Pong Man, 41, of Vancouver recently won the reprieve from Federal
Court Judge Francois Lemieux.

Lemieux ruled Man could stay in Canada at least long enough to have his
court appeals heard.

Lemieux wrote Man's wife and three children would suffer if he were deported.

The judge also ruled that Man, who completed two jail sentences in Canada
for trafficking in heroin and cocaine, might be punished again for his
crimes if returned to China.

"China's returnee policy for convicted drug offenders entailed possible
imprisonment and execution," Lemieux wrote in his decision.

Man came to Canada in 1988 just before the Tiananmen Square massacre and
was granted landed immigrant status through a program that allowed many
Chinese nationals to stay.

In February 1994, he was convicted of possession of heroin for the purposes
of trafficking and sentenced to four years in jail.

Police estimated the 28-gram package could have netted more than $200,000
if sold on the street.

Three years later, Man was again caught with drugs, this time cocaine, and
was sentenced to 38 months in prison.

Submissions to the Immigration Department after his 2000 release said Man
worked hard at being a good husband and father.

He has been steadily employed and committed no further offences.

His eldest son in a letter wrote: "He is a very good dad. I can't lose my dad."

A 2002 report by human rights monitor Amnesty International stated that in
a large proportion of sentences, executions are imposed for drug-related
crimes in China.

"The death penalty . . . is particularly used during periodic 'Strike Hard'
anti-crime campaigns," the report said.