06 June 2003 :

Le Thi Kim Phuong, a 44 year old Vietnamese business woman, came one step closer to facing the firing squad after the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court rejected her appeal against the death sentence for running a fraudulent investment scheme. Phuong, a cashier at a shipping and trading company, was convicted of pocketing around 1.6 million dollars in Vietnamese dong, dollars and gold from a dozen banks and investors whom she allegedly lured into handing over their money.