VIETNAM: GANG OF GOLD THIEVES SENTENCED TO DEATH

A court in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, sentenced three men to death for their part in a gang which stole 800 taels (about 30 kilograms) of gold and killed a shopkeeper, local media reported.
Huynh Van Tiem, 54, Le Anh Kien, 47, and Nguyen Van Nhan, 56, were given the death sentence for murder, robbery and stockpiling and using illegal weapons, Ho Chi Minh City's Police newspaper reported, quoting the municipal People's Court.
A fourth member of the gang was sentenced to life, while a fifth man received 15 years in jail.
During the trial the men said they would attack gold shop owners on deserted streets as they took goods home, shooting anyone who resisted.
Between 2000 and 2005 the gang robbed eight owners, seriously injuring three and killing one.
They were arrested while planning to rob another gold shop in November 2011.
Two other gang members died of drug overdoses before the trial, online newspaper VietNamNet reported.
The three men will be executed by lethal injection.