A 75-year-old man found guilty of drug trafficking in China has garnered national attention, as he faces the death penalty for his crime, while meeting the age requirement for a death-sentence exemption.

Wang Lunye has been sentenced to death alleged drug trafficking, after he was found in possession of four kilograms of heroin.

In China, cases where the death penalty is on the table undergo review by the country's Supreme Court. After two trials in lower courts where Wang was found guilty and sentenced to death, the Supreme Court is now examining the case to determine final sentencing.

However, Wang is 75--an age that makes the offender exempt from the death penalty, according to China's criminal law.

Back in 2011, "The Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (VIII)" incorporated a new paragraph in its Article 49 exempting people older than 75 from the death penalty if they are found guilty of a crime in which capital punishment is the generally-applied sentence.

In China, drug trafficking is a crime punishable by death.

The core issue of the case with Wang is whether or not his death-sentence exemption should be determined during the trial process or by China's Supreme Court.

Being that this is the first case of a person over the age of 75 in China being sentenced for a crime punishable by death since the age-exemption was passed in 2011, it has not determined at what point of China's judicial process the exemption is officially handed down.

Many legal experts say the review of the death sentence should be recognized as part of the trial process, but China's Supreme Court has yet to respond on the matter.

Wang Lunye was born on March 3, 1940, in Vietnam and moved to southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in his thirties. He later relocated to the area along the shared border between China and Vietnam after retirement. Chinese media reports that Wang became involved in drug trafficking around 2011.