Nam Cam
Encyclopedia
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Early life
When Nam Cam was 15 years old, he was arrested for stabbing a man to death in a fight. He subsequently spent two years in jailPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Upon his release, he joined the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
Army of the Republic of Vietnam
The Army of the Republic of Viet Nam , sometimes parsimoniously referred to as the South Vietnamese Army , was the land-based military forces of the Republic of Vietnam , which existed from October 26, 1955 until the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975...
(ARVN) in 1966, to fight against communist North Vietnam. Nam Cam was a devout anti-communist, and he remained in Vietnam during the Fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
, to help defend South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
from the invading North Vietnamese army and their Viet Cong agents.
He eventually was captured by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and was forced to undergo re-education by the North Vietnam Government.
Life as a criminal
He involved himself in criminal activity, amassing substantial wealth for himself. In 1994, he was arrested and convicted for his criminal dealings, but was released early in May 1995 after an intervention by Tran Mai Hanh, director of Radio the Voice of Vietnam. http://www.vietquoc.com/news2002/na051802.htm Charges laid against him included murderMurder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
, organising gambling, organising bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
, abetting criminals, and organising illegal emigration.
Assassination of Dung Ha
The conviction that would lead, perhaps indirectly, to his execution was due to his role in the assassination of underworld rival Dung Ha. Dung Ha, a reputed female gangster from HaiphongHaiphong
, also Haiphong, is the third most populous city in Vietnam. The name means, "coastal defence".-History:Hai Phong was originally founded by Lê Chân, the female general of a Vietnamese revolution against the Chinese led by the Trưng Sisters in the year 43 C.E.The area which is now known as Duong...
in northern Vietnam, moved south to Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, to join forces with Nam Cam, who hoped to get her to serve as his emissary in expanding his casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s in the north. However, Dung Ha had other plans to create her own gang, which angered Nam Cam. Dung Ha wanted to embarrass Nam Cam and arranged for a gift box containing rats to be delivered to one of Nam Cam's restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. Humiliated and enraged, Nam Cam ordered a hit on Dung Ha, which was carried out on October 2, 2000. Two men, traveling on motorbike, came up and parked near where she was sitting. One of them got off the bike, walked up to her, pulled out a 9mm revolver and shot her in the head at point-blank range. The assassins escaped.
Fallout from his conviction
Subsequently, former Ho Chi Minh CityHo Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
police chief (1996-2001), Bui Quoc Huy, was found guilty of negligence for allowing Nam Cam's illegal gambling business to flourish. Tran Mai Hanh, the former head of state radio, was found guilty of receiving bribes of $6,000, plus an Omega watch
Watch
A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
valued at $2,500. Pham Sy Chien, a former deputy national chief prosecutor, was found guilty of receiving a stereo worth $1,800 for arranging Nam Cam's early release in the 1990s from a labor camp (where he was serving time on earlier charges).
The communist government touted the case as proof that they were determined to stamp out organised crime and corruption, a major source of discontent among Vietnamese. On May 7, 2004, President Tran Duc Luong of Vietnam, rejected Nam Cam's appeal of execution. On June 3, 2004, Nam Cam was executed at the district 9 rifle range Ho Chi Minh city by firing squad, along with his four gang members Pham Van Minh, Nguyen Huu Thinh, Chau Phat Lai Em and Nguyen Viet Hung, the last being the one who shot Dung Ha.