~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

Year :      [2003]      [2002]      [2001]      [2000]      [1999]      [1998]      [1997]

Man reputed to be major Vietnam crime boss admits involvement in murder

HANOI - Vietnam's reputed top crime boss admitted he was behind the slaying of a rival gang member while testifying during the communist country's biggest criminal trial, state-controlled media reported Saturday. The Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper said presiding judge Bui Hoang Danh on Friday read excerpts from police interviews with Truong Van Cam, better known as Nam Cam. The alleged mafia boss was quoted as saying he instigated the murder of rival gang member Vu Hoang Dung.

When asked if the police interviews were accurate, Nam Cam answered: "Yes, it's correct," the paper said. On Thursday, he had denied that he ordered gang member Nguyen Tuan Hai to organize the October 2000 murder. Nam Cam said Friday he had been "too panicked" to tell the court the truth the day before.

Operating in Ho Chi Minh City, Nam Cam allegedly ran a business empire that included a string of gambling dens and brothels. His police connections in the city were so tight that authorities from other provinces were sent in to arrest him in December 2001. There are 154 other defendants on trial, including 13 police officers, three prosecutors and three journalists.

The highest-ranking officials include a vice minister of public security, the director of state radio and a vice national chief prosecutor. All were fired from their positions last year. Nam Cam has been charged with seven offenses including murder, gambling, giving bribes and sheltering criminals. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

The trial is scheduled to conclude in late May.

The Associated Press - March 08, 2003.