Jury in Vietnamese killing retire

It took police a month to discover Tran Nguyen's identity

A jury has retired to consider its verdict on six men accused of beating a Vietnamese immigrant to death and dumping him at a hospital in Newport.

It is claimed that Tran Nguyen, 42, was suspected of taking part in a raid by rivals on a secret cannabis factory.

Cardiff Crown Court was told he was subjected to severe beatings in London before being taken back to Newport.

The six all deny murdering the father-of-two. The jury has now gone home and will return to court on Friday.

The court heard that it was not until a month after dying that police discovered his identity, when his brother-in-law went to the Royal Gwent Hospital looking for him.

During the trial, it has been claimed by the prosecution that Mr Nguyen, an illegal immigrant, was at the cannabis plantation at a property in Newport when it was raided by rivals, who tied him up and stole the crop of drugs.

But his gangmaster suspected he may have had a role in the theft, the court heard.

Prosecutor Mark Evans said: "He was taken to a house in London where the gang had hired a heavy to torture him.

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

"Other members of the gang continued to beat him.

"They called up his wife and demanded £40k 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."

'Anxious'

Cardiff Crown Court heard the men drove Mr Nguyen back to Newport where he was given further beatings.

But the wife of one of the gang became "anxious" about his condition and asked to take him to hospital.

Mr Evans added: "The medical staff say Mr Nguyen was unconscious and unresponsive. He was choking and struggling to breathe.

"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."

Mr Nguyen served in the Vietnamese army and later worked for the government but left to set up his own business.

The court heard that the business failed and he moved to Britain because he was in severe financial difficulties.

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, and Bac Phoung Nguyen, 30, of no fixed abode, all deny murder.

Mr Harrison, who the prosecution allege was hired as the "heavy" to beat up Mr Nguyen has denied any involvement.

He said he believed he was brought to the house in London as a debt collector.

He also claimed that Mr Nguyen had already been assaulted when he arrived and left within 10 minutes.