Homeland Security

DATE=12/10/02

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=VIETNAM/NAM CAM TRIAL (LONG ONLY)

NUMBER=2-300019

BYLINE=KAY JOHNSON

DATELINE=HO CHI MINH CITY

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Vietnam opened its largest-ever organized crime trial on Tuesday.

The defendants in the sensational case include Nam Cam, a reputed crime

boss, and several senior members of the Communist Party accused of

protecting him. Kay Johnson reports from Ho Chi Minh City.

TEXT: Criminal trials aren't usually open to the public in Vietnam. But

the case of the man known as Nam Cam, an alleged crime kingpin, has

generated so much public interest that state-run television broadcast

the opening hours of his trial. Several hundred people stood in the

courtyard of Ho Chi Minh City People's Court Tuesday in hopes of

catching a glimpse of the notorious defendant.

At the height of his power, Mr. Cam - whose real name is Truong Van Cam

- was reportedly raking in about 2-million dollars a month from

gambling, karaoke bars and prostitution. He is charged with murder and

bribery among other crimes. It is his connections in high places,

however, that have grabbed the most attention.

Twenty-one state officials and employees are among the 155 defendants in

the trial, including two members of the elite Communist Party Central

Committee and an assistant national prosecutor. The officials are

charged with shielding him from prosecution. The 21 also include

policemen and reporters for the state-run news media, who were allegedly

on Mr. Cam's payroll.

With Vietnam wallowing in corruption, the Communist Party was at first

eager to show that it was fighting graft, even if the graft reached the

highest levels. But Party officials later had a change of heart and

warned the Vietnamese media to tone down their coverage, saying stories

about the case were hurting the Party's image.

Officials did allow the trial's opening to be televised, but the case

will now continue behind closed doors until a verdict comes in about two

months. Vietnamese journalists were warned last week that they should

only report details of the case that are "beneficial" to the country.

(Signed)

NEB/HK/KJ/BK