Sisters held in Vietnam uncharged
Two Australian sisters arrested in Vietnam last year for
heroin smuggling could face another eight months in custody
before charges are formally laid.
After that, they are likely to be detained another year awaiting
trial, said an Australian consular official in Ho Chi Minh City.
Phan Thi Ngoc Phuong, 25, and her sisters Phan Jeny, 14,
and Phan Ngoc Viet Phi, 12, were arrested in November last
year at Tan Son Nhat international airport.
The two younger sisters allegedly had 656 grams of heroin in
plastic containers in their underwear when boarding the
plane on the way back to Australia.
In Vietnam, trafficking more than 600 grams of heroin is
punishable by death, or 20 years to life in prison.
The eldest sister could face the death penalty if charged with
trafficking, but a special case of leniency is being considered
for her sisters, if it is proved that adults had taken advantage
of them, said senior Vietnamese police.
Under Vietnamese law, however, the 14-year-old sister could
face a long jail sentence and her younger sister could be sent
to a re-education camp.
Eight days after the arrest, the youngest sister was released
to stay with relatives in Ho Chi Minh City until authorities
completed investigations.
But the two older girls were at the police detention centre,
while the eldest sister's baby son was being cared for by his
grandmother in the city.
"The girls are still being detained as the authorities still
haven't completed their investigations," the Australian
consul-general, Sharon Reardon, said yesterday.
It could take another year after that until they come to trial.
"That hasn't been uncommon in the past," she said.
The girls have had only one visit from Australian consular
officials, on Christmas Eve last year, when consular officials
Stephen Henningham and Johnathon Lee visited them.
Ms Reardon said the consulate immediately requested
another visit, but it had not been allowed.
By Lee Glendinning - The Sydney Morning Herald - February 28, 2003.
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