Wanted: lawyer for Vietnam mafia don
HANOI - It might be the biggest criminal case ever in Vietnam, but lawyers are apparently gun shy of representing the star defendant, mob king Nam Cam.
Truong Van Cam, accused of ordering the killing of a rival gang member, gambling, extortion and fraud, is expected to stand trial in his home turf of Ho Chi Minh City in early December, but so far no lawyers have agreed to defend him, state-run media said. Cam, known by his alias Nam Cam (five orange), is one of three defendants who have been turned down by communist Vietnam's legal elite. The other defendants are two former police officials.
"All lawyers, when being invited to defend them, have refused or simply say they need to think carefully before giving (an) answer, although the payment their families promise is rather attractive," reported the Gia Dinh & Xa Hoi (Family and Society) newspaper Monday. If no one agrees, the Ho Chi Minh City Lawyer Society will appoint lawyers for the defendants, the newspaper said.
Probes into the gang have swept up nearly 180 people and more than 150 are expected to be in the dock. Among the 24 charges they face are murder, gambling, extortion, bribery and the falsification of case files, official media have reported.
In August, Hanoi stripped government positions from two senior communist party members who had been expelled from the powerful Central Committee over allegations they had direct links to the gang. The case is seen as a test of Vietnam's resolve to combat corruption. The country's newly installed legislative body this year made an anti-graft drive one of its key goals.
Among those accused of connections to the gang include 19 government officials, 14 police officers, three prosecutors and two journalists, state-run media have said.
Reuters - October 7, 2002
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