Phuong Ngo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of the series on Australian criminals

Bank robbers Bushrangers Convicts Criminals Drug traffickers Murderers Serial killers Prisoners Rapists
International Criminals by nationality

Phuong Ngo was convicted of ordering the killing of Australian MP John Newman on 5 September 1994. He was arrested on March 13, 1998, tried and subsequently jailed. His appeal to the High Court of Australia was rejected in May 2004. Two of Ngo's co-accused conspirators were acquitted. Phuong Ngo's supporters say he was convicted on flimsy evidence.

A Fairfield City Councillor, Ngo worked hard to help members of the Vietnamese community and led the development of a new community centre in Fairfield. He was a prominent leader in the Vietnamese Catholic community, which held prayer services for him in the hope that he would be acquitted of the murder. He was also rumoured to be running a narcotics operation.

The prosecution in Ngo's case claimed that John Newman was a political rival of Ngo in that Ngo wanted his seat in Parliament. However, senior ALP figures including former General Secretary John Della Bosca swore on oath that Ngo had in fact strong support for another seat, in the Legislative Council. ^{[citation needed]}

There were two mistrials before the final Ngo trial where only Phuong Ngo of the three defendants was convicted.