A Malaysian court sentenced a Japanese woman to death yesterday for smuggling methamphetamine into the country in what an official said was the first such case involving a citizen of Japan. A high court in Shah Alam near the capital Kuala Lumpur found Mariko Takeuchi guilty of drug trafficking, said a court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to make public statements. A customs official who also requested anonymity said the verdict marked the first time a Japanese national had been arrested for smuggling drugs into Malaysia, which is known for its tough anti-drug laws. Drug smuggling carries a mandatory death penalty by hanging in Malaysia. Takeuchi’s lawyer Mohamed Rafik Rahem said he would appeal the sentence for the 37-year-old former nurse. The government said in Parliament earlier this year that since 1960 more than 440 people have been executed, while nearly 700 prisoners, mostly men, are on death row. More than two-thirds of those involved drug offences. Takeuchi was arrested in October last year at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after arriving from Dubai with 3.5 kilogrammes of the drug. She has testified that she was duped by a man into carrying a bag containing the methamphetamine but did not know the drugs were inside. The customs official said Dubai is a frequent transit point for drugs destined for Malaysia, which are often then sent on to other countries such as Australia. Meanwhile, members of an opposition party have called on Muslim-majority Malaysia to ban next month’s concert by Elton John, saying yesterday that the gay singer promotes “hedonism”. Shahril Azman Abdul Halim al-Hafiz, an official with the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), said the concert at the Genting Highlands resort on Nov. 22 would corrupt the young because of John’s homosexuality. “It’s not good. In Islam homosexuality is forbidden,” he said. “What he is doing is hedonism. Hedonism is not good in Islam.” The British singer is openly gay, marrying his partner in 2005 after same-sex unions were legalised in Britain. Shahril is the chairman of the PAS youth wing of eastern Pahang state. Agencies