12 December 2003 :

Ngo Minh, 33, committed suicide after being sentenced to death for drug trafficking in Vietnam's central province of Khanh Hoa, police said. Minh used a sharpened plastic spoon to slash his wrists and neck while being transferred from the courthouse to prison in a police van after being sentenced. His death was not discovered until the van arrived at the prison. Minh and his partner-in-crime Cao Ton, who was also given the death penalty, were found guilty of trafficking drugs from the northern border province of Nghe An - an infamous entry point for narcotics coming into Vietnam from neighbouring Laos - and then taking them to Khanh Hoa for sale.