On September 24, Visanu Chokthavee Sarp, 42, a Thai...

On September 24, Visanu Chokthavee Sarp, 42, a Thai businessman convicted of cheating a state firm of about US$176,000 in assets by the Vietnamese Appeal Court on July 2, had his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment following intervention by the Thai Government. Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai and Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan had in July written separate letters to the Vietnamese President seeking commutation of Visanu's death penalty, and then Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong approved the clemency appeal. Thai leaders said the death sentence would adversely affect the joint efforts of both countries in promoting bilateral trade and investment, by generating a climate of apprehension among the Thai business community.