New Zealander stands trial in Guangzhou on drug charges 

New Zealand’s Peter Gardner is escorted by policemen as he arrives at the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court

A 25-year-old New Zealander who faces a possible death sentence if convicted of smuggling methamphetamine testified yesterday that he came to China to collect what he thought was muscle-building supplements and never checked the packages before trying to depart.
Peter Gardner at times choked on his words and said he was sorry for any harm done to China and to his family because of his involvement in the case in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
His lawyer, Zhang Jie, said Gardner was tricked into being an accomplice in a smuggling scheme, and that he had never touched any of the methamphetamines that were seized by customs officials at Guangzhou Baiyun airport on Nov. 8.
Authorities have charged him with trying to smuggle more than 30 kilograms of the illegal drug out of China, which carries a possible death penalty. The trial concluded yesterday and no date was set for a verdict.
The trial in Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court was broadcast live on a court website, but Gardner’s testimony in English was barely, if at all, audible. A court interpreter gave an audible translation in Chinese.
Gardner argued that he did not knowingly smuggle drugs, though he appeared to acknowledge some wrongdoing and offered to remedy the situation by helping police identify Chinese suspects.
Gardner, who also has Australian citizenship and resided in Sydney, said he came to China to buy several kilograms of a muscle-building supplement, «but I didn›t check the parcel after I got the delivery,» the translator quoted him as saying.
“The crime I committed affected my family, and I would do anything that would help me in this situation, so I’d like to help the police to identify other suspects,” the translator quoted him as saying. “And I’d like to point out the other Chinese suspects as soon as possible if police hand me photos for me to identify.”
The court was shown a security video of an exchange in which Gardner met two Chinese men in the lobby of the Hilton hotel in Guangzhou. He is seen approaching the men, exchanging a code to confirm identities and then taking possession of two Adidas-brand duffel bags.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, asked about the case at a regular briefing yesterday, said drug smuggling does “great harm to society” and the case will be handled according to law. “And we will be very cautious about using the death penalty,” she said. Paul Traynor, Guangzhou, AP