June 4
VIETNAM:
Vietnamese mobster repents before death
Vietnam's most notorious gangster expressed regret for his life of crime
and urged his grandsons not to follow in his footsteps hours before being
executed by a firing squad.
Truong Van Cam, known as Nam Cam, was gunned down with 4 of his gang
members in front of 500 spectators.
The 57-year-old mobster was convicted last year on murder and bribery
charges following a crackdown on his criminal empire, which had ties that
reached into the ruling Communist Party.
A day after the public executions, newspapers ran lengthy front-page
accounts of the gangsters final hours.
Pioneer newspaper reported they were taken from their prison in Tien Giang
province to Ho Chi Minh City in a heavily-guarded convoy.
They all thought that this was a normal transfer to another prison which
they had experienced in the past, so they still talked and joked, the
newspaper said.
At 3.30 a.m., they were informed by an execution council that they would
be allowed to write final letters to their families.
In the letter Nam Cam wrote to his Buddhist nun daughter, he expressed his
belated regret that he did not listen to her advice.
In the letters he wrote to his 2 grandsons, Nam Cam urged them not to
repeat what he did, the newspaper said.
After being given new clothes, the 5 were given their last meal.
By 5am, police cars brought the 5 mobsters to the firing range. 2 of the
men continued talking and laughing, but then fainted at the sight of the
coffins and freshly dug graves.
As judge Nguyen Duc Sau read out President Tran Duc Luongs rejection of
their appeal for clemency, some weeping could be heard among the crowd of
people gathered around the execution grounds, the paper said.
At 5.30am, multiple shots rang out.
(source: Ireland Online)
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Death sentences for underworld kingpin Nam Cam and his henchmen executed
The death sentences on underworld kingpin Truong Van Cam and his four
accomplices were carried out by firing squad in Ho Chi Minh City on
Thursday.
The death sentences for Truong Van Cam (Nam Cam) and the other convicts -
Pham Van Minh, Nguyen Huu Thinh, Chau Phat Lai Em and Nguyen Viet Hung
were upheld by the Appeal Court on October 30, 2003.
Nam Cam was given 2 death sentences for murder and bribery and his 4
accomplices were sentenced to death for murder.
After the State President rejected pleas for clemency, the chief judge of
the HCM City Peoples Court, on May 21, 2004, issued a decision on
establishing an execution council for the 5 defendants sentenced to death
in the Nam Cam case.
At a press briefing after the execution, the HCM City Peoples Court said
that the execution of the 5 dangerous criminals took place in accordance
with the law.
(source: Viet Nam News Agency)
