Vietnamese Embassy bomber gets 12 years in jail

Duc, together with Nguyen Thanh Hien Si, made an attempt to attack the embassy for the purpose to carry political message in a special day of former South Vietnam Nationalist Army Day on June 19.

After the attack, Duc, an American citizen, escaped to the US. He was arrested there in October 2001 and extradited to face trail in Thailand last December.

The court convicted him for possessing weapon and explosive material in accordance with the 1947 weaponry act for 12 years and for the attempt to use such explosive device in accordance with the Penal Code for another 12 years. 

But the court commuted the prison terms to 12 years as he confessed and allow him to appeal within 30 days.

 "In the year 2001 when the incident was occurred, the US Congress passed a bill to promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam. This shows that not only me who fights for democracy in Vietnam but all Americans, all Vietnamese all over the world. We support democracy in Vietnam," Duc told reporters after the verdict. 

"That's why I believe the sentence by Thai court is injustice for me, completely injustice. I would call for the world to come to help me," he said.

The court's verdict on Friday was made in the same line with the case of Hien Si who is now under detention of eight years imprisonment pending for the Supreme Court ruling on his appeal.

Lawyer Worasit Piriyawiboon said he would appeal the case to get same treatment as Hien Si case who got leniency of punishment.

The appeal would be also made on ground that Duc was jailed in the US for sometime, his jail term in Thailand should be less than 12 years, he said.

 Born in My Tho, South Vietnam, Duc 48 fled the country in 1980 by boat to escape political prosecution. He settled in the US later and attended California State University and earned a bachelor degree in civil engineering.

by Supalak G Khundee

The Nation