Verdict expected for Vietnam gang leader

Verdict expected for Vietnam gang leader

HANOI (AFP): The alleged head of one of Vietnam's most notorious crime syndicates wept in court and begged for leniency for his followers while denying charges against him, official reports said.

Duong Van Khanh contended he was innocent of murder in the stabbing death of a man following a fight between the victim and his gang in central Hanoi in 1991, the official Nhan Dan daily reported yesterday.

A weeping Khanh also asked the court to be lenient with 14 members of his gang who were charged with robbery, saying they were only following his orders.

A verdict is expected today, the report said.

Khanh, 41, is facing charges of murder, tax evasion, robbery and giving bribes to save his younger brother, Nguyen Tien Thang, who is charged with murder after beating a fellow prisoner to death in Hanoi prison in 1994.