Source: ANN
Bacolod City - Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has vowed to bring up the case of a Filipina who is detained in Bangkok for illegal drugs during his scheduled state visit to Thailand this month.
He said he also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to study the case of and extend all possible assistance to Flory May Talaban, 28, who is serving a life sentence at Ngam Wong Wan Central Women�s Institution in Bangkok after a Thai court found her guilty of possession of heroin with intent to sell.
�We will see how we will be of assistance to the family,� Aquino told reporters on Friday.
He added the purpose of his state visit to Thailand and Indonesia is to further strengthen ties between the Philippines and its two Southeast Asian neighbors.
Aquino said he would bring up the case of Talaban since the Philippines has very good relations with the Prime Minister of Thailand.
Aquino was in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, on Friday for a briefing on the country�s economic outlook, multisectoral consultations and the distribution of health, livelihood, housing and land assistance to thousands of Negros residents.
Talaban, 28, quit her law studies at University of St. La Salle (USLS) in Bacolod City to work as a teacher in China in 2005.
But when she arrived in China, there was no available work for her. She, however, opted to stay after her father suffered a stroke and was forced to retire from work at USLS as electronic technician.
Talaban later told her parents that she was hired as a tutor and a teacher at Vector International School in China.
She was later brought to Bangkok by an African couple, whose children she was tutoring, for a vacation. Her parents, however, lost contact with her on May 3, 2009, a day after her birthday.
They didn�t know that their daughter was arrested on that day after Thai police found 2.6 kilograms of heroin in the books she was carrying.
Police also raided her Bangkok apartment and found 2.8 kg of heroin there.
A Thai court found Talaban guilty for �possession of a Category 1 illegal narcotic (heroin) with intent to sell.�
The parents learned about her arrest and conviction from a couple of missionaries from Negros Occidental who went to the Bangkok jail.
Many other Filipinos are languishing in foreign jails for drug trafficking, most of them victims of syndicates that are using so-called drug mules.
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Bacolod City - Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has vowed to bring up the case of a Filipina who is detained in Bangkok for illegal drugs during his scheduled state visit to Thailand this month.
He said he also asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to study the case of and extend all possible assistance to Flory May Talaban, 28, who is serving a life sentence at Ngam Wong Wan Central Women�s Institution in Bangkok after a Thai court found her guilty of possession of heroin with intent to sell.
�We will see how we will be of assistance to the family,� Aquino told reporters on Friday.
He added the purpose of his state visit to Thailand and Indonesia is to further strengthen ties between the Philippines and its two Southeast Asian neighbors.
Aquino said he would bring up the case of Talaban since the Philippines has very good relations with the Prime Minister of Thailand.
Aquino was in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, on Friday for a briefing on the country�s economic outlook, multisectoral consultations and the distribution of health, livelihood, housing and land assistance to thousands of Negros residents.
Talaban, 28, quit her law studies at University of St. La Salle (USLS) in Bacolod City to work as a teacher in China in 2005.
But when she arrived in China, there was no available work for her. She, however, opted to stay after her father suffered a stroke and was forced to retire from work at USLS as electronic technician.
Talaban later told her parents that she was hired as a tutor and a teacher at Vector International School in China.
She was later brought to Bangkok by an African couple, whose children she was tutoring, for a vacation. Her parents, however, lost contact with her on May 3, 2009, a day after her birthday.
They didn�t know that their daughter was arrested on that day after Thai police found 2.6 kilograms of heroin in the books she was carrying.
Police also raided her Bangkok apartment and found 2.8 kg of heroin there.
A Thai court found Talaban guilty for �possession of a Category 1 illegal narcotic (heroin) with intent to sell.�
The parents learned about her arrest and conviction from a couple of missionaries from Negros Occidental who went to the Bangkok jail.
Many other Filipinos are languishing in foreign jails for drug trafficking, most of them victims of syndicates that are using so-called drug mules.
