Vietnamese woman facing death for drug trafficking

By Qishin Tariq, The Star

PUTRAJAYA: A Vietnamese woman convicted of drug trafficking was allowed by the Court of Appeal here to introduce new evidence in her bid to escape the gallows.

Prison cell

The panel chaired by Justice Balia Yusof Wahi granted Nguyen Thanh Ngoc Tuyet’s application to introduce two police statements and oral evidence of three Vietnamese witnesses to support the contents of those documents.

One of the statements allowed is allegedly a confession by her friend Tran Thanh Tam to Vietnamese authorities, in which Tran Thanh confesses to setting Nguyen Thanh up with the drugs, while the other is of the two policemen who interviewed her.

Justice Balia ruled that the new evidence has relevance to the case and that Tran Thanh was not a ficticious character, as her involvement had been considered even by the trial judge.

“Our paramount consideration is the interest of justice. Every opportunity must be given to the appellant  (Nguyen Thanh) because she is facing a death penalty. There is a special circumstances to grant her application,” said Justice Balia.

The three-member panel, which included Justices Rohana Yusuf and Zakaria Sam fixed Dec 11 to hear the testimonies of Tran Tranh and two Vietnamese police officers.

They ordered the testimonies of the three witnesses to be heard by a Court of Appeal panel and not before the High Court as the trial judge, Mohd Amin Firdaus Abdullah had retired this year.

Read the full story by Qishin Tariq of the Star.