05 June 2003 :

Nam Cam, 56, known as Vietnam's most powerful mafia boss, was sentenced to death, together with five of his henchmen, following a trial that exposed a web of corruption at the heart of the country's political system.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court handed down two death sentences to Nam Cam for ordering the assassination of a rival underworld figure in October 2000 and bribing state officials to protect his crime network. Chau Phat Lai Em, Nguyen Viet Hung, Nguyen Huu Thinh, Ho Thanh Tung and Pham Van Minhwere also condemned to face the firing squad, while four of his family members were given prison sentences ranging from six to 20 years. All but a handful of the 155 defendants, clad in green-and-white striped prison pyjamas, were found guilty by the court.
"Anyone who violates the law will be punished by the law no matter who they are," the presiding magistrate, Bui Hoang Danh, told reporters.
In a country frequently labelled as one of the most corrupt in the world, and where luxury cars, palatial villas and overseas bank accounts are openly flouted by officials, the get-tough-on-graft campaign has convinced few.
"The whole thing is rather farcical," said one Ho Chi Minh City-based foreign businessman requesting anonymity. "Everyone knows about the illegally-gained fortunes of many senior government officials.
This trial appears more to do with competing factions and power bases among senior party members than anything else.
"Outside the court emotions ran high as family members of the accused, carefully watched over by dozens of Kalashnikov-wielding police and military personnel, listened to a live broadcast from the court room. "My son gave himself up to police and should not be executed.
He just followed orders. He has a two-year-old son," said Le Thi My Hanh, the mother of 28-year-old Ho Thanh Tung, who was sentenced to death for murder.
During his decade-long reign as the city's "godfather," Nam Cam ran gambling dens, restaurants, brothels and protection rackets, making an estimated two million dollars a month.