HANOI – An appeals court in Vietnam has lightened the death sentence of a 73-year-old Australian woman convicted of heroin trafficking.

According to online state media outlet Vietnamnet, it quoted the People’s High Court in Ho Chi Minh City as citing Nguyen Thi Huong’s sincere confession and age for granting leniency.

Huong was arrested in December 2014 at Tan Son Nhat Airport after heroin was found hidden in 36 bars of soap in her luggage. She was checking in for a flight to Sydney.

This year in June, Huong was sentenced to death after being convicted of attempting to smuggle 1.6 kilograms of heroin.

On Monday, her sentence was reduced to life in prison at the appeals trial.

Vietnam has some of the world’s toughest drug laws. The death penalty is applied in cases of trafficking of 100 grams of heroin or more.

– with other agencies