Drug traffickers to hang

Five men convicted of drug trafficking in Malaysia are brought to court to learn their fate.

Mexican Jose Regino Gonzalez Villareal, and his brothers Simon Gonzalez Villareal and Luis Alfonso Gonzalez Villareal were arrested in 2008.

Singaporean national Lim Mun Wang and Malaysian Lee Boon Sian were also held.

The crime carries a mandatory capital punishment.

All five were sentenced to hang.

The Mexicans said they'd been working as cleaners at a building where drugs and production equipment were found during a police raid.

The prosecutor in the case says it's a warning to others.

SOUNDBITE: UMAR SAIFUDDIN, PROSECUTOR, SAYING (English):

"I think it should serve as a lesson to would-be visitors, especially the foreigners, to think twice about coming here and trying to establish a factory to process drugs."

The men's defence lawyer says they'll fight on.

SOUNDBITE: FOONG KIT SON, DEFENCE LAWYER, SAYING (English):

"We will be filing an appeal tomorrow morning and this process will take us to Putrajaya for the court of appeal before three judges and if still not successful, the final one will be to the federal court."

If the executions go ahead, the three Mexicans would be the first in their nation's history to hang in Asia.

Paul Chapman, Reuters