9 News Australia
20 years is a long time to spend behind bars and an Australian woman of Vietnamese origin is facing this grim reality for trying to smuggle heroin into Vietnam last Decemeber.
Lam Thi Kim Hong Hanh was sentenced to 20 years in jail for trying to smuggle heroin into Vietnam. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Lam Thi Kim Hong Hanh, 38, was caught with 376 grams of the drug at Tan Son Nhat airport in December last year, which she tried to hide in her underwear.
Hanh told the court she was planning to transport the drugs from Vietnam to Australia for a fee of $5,000.
Vietnam has one of the world’s toughest drug laws. Anyone found guilty of possessing more than 600 grams of heroin, or more than 20kg of opium, can face the death penalty.
The communist government also enforces compulsory “rehabilitation” programs for the country’s estimated 140,000 drug addicts, which rights groups have strongly criticised, pointing to allegations of forced labour and abuse.
Read more at http://www.9news.com.au/world/2015/09/08/20/58/australian-jailed-in-vietnam-over-drugs#ChUd7gBQAKFmCQqv.99
