On August 4, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai appealed...

On August 4, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai appealed by letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Khai to spare the first Thai national sentenced to death on a fraud charge. He asked him to reconsider the case on the grounds of close bilateral ties and business and ASEAN partnerships. The letter was coupled with Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan's petition to his counterpart Nguyen Manh Cam. The Government initiated the appeal after the Vietnamese Court of Appeal on July 5, passed the death sentence on Visanu Chokthavee Sarp for misappropriating public property and private assets by cheating a state-owned footwear firm of some US$200,000 in 1996. Visanu denied the charge. Also during an official visit to Vietnam in June, the Foreign Minister raised Visanu's case with the Vietnamese Government and sought leniency. Visanu is an executive of Chaophaya Footwear Co Ltd in Bangkok. "Now the case is in the hands of the Vietnamese President. It will be decided by political will," the source said.