Mother begs to save daughter from execution

THE Irish-based mother of a pregnant woman facing a possible death sentence for drug smuggling last night begged for her release.

The trial of 20-year-old Samantha Orobator was due to start yesterday in the Asian country of Laos, where she faces charges of smuggling 680g of heroin last August.

She has been in custody for at least seven months and she is now five months pregnant. Her trial could start today amid desperate appeals to the Laotian authorities for leniency.