VIETNAM. AUSTRALIAN-VIETNAMESE RECEIVES DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG SMUGGLING

a Vietnam court has sentenced a 46-year-old Australian of Vietnamese origin to death by firing squad for attempting to send heroin stuffed in loudspeakers to Australia, the state-run Voice of Vietnam radio said.
Mai Cong Thanh, the second Australian sentenced to death in Vietnam this year for heroin trafficking, was sentenced by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court on June 9.
Thanh and one of his two Australian accomplices, who is also of Vietnamese origin, were arrested at Saigon Port in May 2003 with nearly 2 kilograms (4.41 lb) of heroin. The other man was not tried because he suffered from a psychiatric disorder. The second accomplice had fled, the radio said.
"It too early to speak of clemency as there is still an appeals process to go through," a spokeswoman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said.
The Australian government opposes the death penalty and Thanh has 15 days to appeal.
Vietnam, which has vowed to get tougher on drugs, launched a nationwide police crackdown this month on social vices such as prostitution and drugs abuse.