Vietnam to rush notorious mob gang to trial
HANOI - Vietnam plans to rush to trial an alleged mob leader and more
than
60 gang members accused of murder, illegal gambling and possessing
weapons
in a case which has led to the suspension of 23 police officers.
Truong Vinh Trong, a secretary of the ruling Communist Party, told the
official Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper investigators were accelerating
their probe into Truong Van Cam, or Nam Cam, and his gang in order to
open a
trial in July.
He did not give further details of the case, but the setting of a court
timetable follows criticism in the official media of delays in bringing
Nam
Cam to trial after he was arrested late last year.
Ho Chi Minh City is communist-ruled Vietnam's busiest trading centre. It
is
also is the scene of increasing crime, including prostitution, drug
abuse
and gambling.
Two more senior Ho Chi Minh City police officers -- the city's deputy
head
of criminal police and the deputy head of waterways police -- have been
relieved from duty, bringing the number of suspensions to 23, according
to
the official media.
The officers, including the head of the city's criminal police, were
suspended while they are investigated to see why they failed to control
the
gambling and prostitution racket Nam Cam is charged with operating.
Cam, Vietnam's most famous alleged mob godfather who local media say was
once jailed for beating someone almost to death, is in custody with
about 60
members of his gang.
Official media have also reported that more than 50 state officials,
most of
them policemen, have alleged links to the crime gang.
National police chief Major-General Truong Huu Quoc has vowed that
senior
officers will be prosecuted if investigators find evidence of
involvement in
the gang.
Reuters - April 15, 2002
|