Nguyen’s twin found guilty in samurai sword attack

SYDNEY: The brother of an Australian drug runner hanged in Singapore was convicted over a savage samurai sword attack but details of the case were suppressed amid fears they could jeopardise clemency appeals, it was reported yesterday. 

The Australian daily reported Nguyen Khoa pleaded guilty to the attack last year and was given a three-year sentence, which the judge ordered be suspended partially because his twin brother was awaiting execution in Singapore. 

The judge also banned publication of case details while Australian officials repeatedly appealed to Singapore not to hang Nguyen Tuong Van, who was caught trying to smuggle 400g of heroin through the city state. 

The appeals were turned down and Nguyen, 25, was hanged at dawn on Friday, sparking outrage in Australia. He had maintained he was smuggling the drugs from Cambodia to pay off debts run up by Khoa. 

The Australian said the debts included legal bills incurred by the court case that followed Khoa's involvement in a brawl between Asian and Pacific Islander youths in Melbourne in 1998. 

It said the prosecution alleged that Khoa armed himself with a samurai sword and repeatedly slashed a 17-year-old Islander youth, leaving his victim confined to a wheelchair for a period and in need of plastic surgery. 

The newspaper said Khoa was also a convicted drug trafficker and heroin user. 

He was in Singapore last week for his brother's execution and expected to arrive back in Australia with his twin's body today.  

Nguyen's lawyer said the dead man's friends would receive advice from beyond the grave in the form of letters written before his execution that will be distributed this week. – AFP