VIETNAM. 3 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

September 14, 2007: a Vietnamese court gave death sentences to three Vietnamese people, and life sentences to two others for drug trafficking, Vietnam News Agency reported. Dao Duy Than, 33, Bui The My, 68, from northern Bac Ninh province, and Than's lover named Nguyen Thi Ha, 40, from northern Bac Giang province were sentenced to death. When arresting Than and his wife, who got life imprisonment sentence, in August 2006, local police seized 350 gram of heroin. Than admitted that he bought the heroin on credit with price of 140 million Vietnamese dong (8,750 U.S. dollars) from My. Than traded nearly 1.8 kg of heroin, and My nearly 1.5 kg in only two months, said the agency. The People's Court of Hanoi city also handed down jail terms of 1-20 years on four local people in the drug trafficking ring. (Sources: People's Daily Online, 14/09/2007)