Gang 'tortured man in two cities'

Tran Nguyen was 'choking and unresponsive', hospital staff said

A man was tortured by a "hired heavy" and a Vietnamese drugs gang in houses in London and Newport before being dumped in hospital, a trial has heard.

Tran Nguyen, 42, died shortly after being left with severe brain injuries at the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport.

Six men at Cardiff Crown Court deny his murder in November 2006.

The jury heard Mr Nguyen, who tended plants for cannabis dealers, was beaten and stamped on because his employers thought he was involved with rivals.

He had been working for a Vietnamese gang at a secret cannabis factory in Newport, the court was told.

The house was raided by a rival gang, but his employers thought he was involved and beat him to get information..

The six men accused of his killing are: Bac Phoung Nguyen, 30, of no fixed abode, Thanh Van Le, 31, Son Van Nhu, 24, Cong Van Le, 48, all of Feltham, Middlesex, Quynh Van Huynh, 51, and Paul Harrison, 37, both of London.

Prosecutor Mark Evans said the father-of-two had told his gang-masters what happened but they suspected he was involved in the raid.

"He was taken to a house in London where the gang had hired a heavy to torture him," he told the jury.

The gang member told her to be prepared to collect her husband's corpse if she didn't pay up Mark Evans, prosecutor

"He was thrown across the room several times - his head hitting a radiator.

"His face and body were stamped on but he told them he had no knowledge of the raid.

"Other members of the gang continued to beat him.

"They called up his wife and demanded £40,000 in compensation for the stolen crop.

"The gang member told her to be prepared to collect her husband's corpse if she didn't pay up."

Mr Nguyen was driven more than 130 miles back to Newport and beaten again and left in a pool of his own blood, the court heard.

He was taken to hospital after the wife of a gang member became anxious about his condition.

Difficulties

Staff at the hospital were reported as saying Mr Nguyen was "unconscious and unresponsive" and "choking and struggling to breathe".

Mr Evans said: "A CT scan was carried out which showed he had a serious brain injury to such an extent that they deemed him beyond treatment and pronounced him dead."

A post-mortem examination showed bleeding within the brain and pressure in the skull.

The court was told Mr Nguyen's identity was not uncovered for a month until his brother-in-law went to the hospital to look for him.

Mr Nguyen, a former soldier in the Vietnamese army, had worked for the Vietnamese government before leaving to set up his own business.

However it failed and he came to Britain because he was in severe financial difficulties.

The trial is continuing, and is expected to last for between four and six months.