VIETNAM: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR SLASHER ROBBER

March 24, 2014: A 21-year-old man who led a machete-armed gang that hacked off a woman's hand and violently robbed at least 13 people in Ho Chi Minh City saw his death sentence upheld by a city appeals court.
The HCMC People’s Court also maintained the first trial’s verdicts against three of Ho Duy Truc's accomplices who had appealed for reduced sentences, including one life sentence.
The board of judges said Truc’s criminal acts were “too brutal” and had frightened the public.
They also said that he committed his crimes “professionally” and was “unchangeable,” given that he and his gang had conducted 15 robberies across the city between June and November last year.
Previously the man had been hit with two sentences totaling 12 years from a court in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan, where he had conducted two robberies. 
According to the indictment, for the robberies in HCMC, Truc and his accomplices stole 15 motorbikes, money, gold and cell phones worth a total of VND610 million (US$28,500). (Sources: thanhniennews.com, 24/03/2014)