At least ten Asian countries resorted to capital punishment last year, however. China is believed to be the most frequent executioner, though the number of people killed, and for which crimes, remain closely guarded secrets. The Philippines looks poised to reintroduce capital punishment—and in practice the police administer it frequently, by shooting drug suspects without the nicety of a trial.
Vietnam also shrouds capital punishment in secrecy. For years it was believed to execute just a few people a year. But a report from its Ministry of Public Security, published in the local media in February, said that 429 prisoners were executed between August 8th 2013 and June 30th 2016. That would make Vietnam the world’s third-most-prolific executioner, after China and Iran (see chart).
Vietnam has also continued sentencing people to death at a rapid clip—63 in 2016 alone, according to Amnesty’s count, which it believes is incomplete. Most of these were for drug offences.
Source: Deathly silence: Vietnam executes many more people than previously thought | The Economist
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