28 May 2003 :

A Vietnamese court sentenced to death Denchai Nuntipanich, a 33 year old Thai national, after convicting him of participating in an illegal football gambling ring and killing a punter to avoid paying out a 45,000 dollar bet, a court official said.
Nuntipanich was found guilty at the end of a two-day trial by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court of murdering a Vietnamese man in a hotel room on June 27, 2000.
The dismembered body of Ngu Luong was discovered by hotel staff three days later stuffed in black plastic bags under the bed. However, the 45-year-old victim's head and neck were missing, the official said.
The court heard that Denchai had lured him to the hotel room to avoid having to handover 45,000 dollars Luong had won in a bet placed on Euro 2000 matches, he said.
The Thai national, who is married to a Vietnamese woman, was arrested on July 1, 2000 in the southern business capital. A blood-stained backpack that belonged to the victim was found in his house.
Besides his death sentence, he was also handed a three-year prison term for participating in an illegal betting network.