Pubdate: Wed, 10 Nov 2004
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2004 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Glen Mcgregor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04.n1596.a09.html

SON IN VIETNAM PRISON BETTER OFF DEAD: MOTHER

The mother of a Canadian man convicted on drug charges in Vietnam says her 
son is unlikely to survive the 16-year prison sentence he received.

Randy Sachs, 26, and fellow Canadian Nguyen Van Hai, 40, were sentenced 
Monday by a court in Ho Chi Minh City over a plot to smuggle Ecstasy 
tablets from Europe. Mr. Hai received a 15-year sentence.

Dee Hogle says her son cannot endure the isolation and harsh conditions of 
a Vietnamese prison for that long.

"There's no way he can, psychologically. The kid will be dead before then," 
Ms. Hogle said from her home in Beaverton, Ont.

Vietnam does not have a prisoner-exchange treaty with Canada and does not 
usually give parole or early release. That means the two will likely have 
to serve their full sentences in the Chi Hoa Detention Centre in Ho Chi 
Minh City.

"(Monday), I felt like he had died," Ms. Hogle said. "I'm experiencing a 
mourning period as if he passed away. It would be easier on the family if 
he did. I hate to say it. It would be easier on him, too."

At the time of his arrest in May 2003, Mr. Sachs's family feared he would 
be executed. Vietnam punishes drug cases harshly, even when foreigners are 
involved. Canadian Nguyen Thi Hiep was convicted of smuggling five kilos of 
heroin and shot by a firing squad in 2000, a move that sent Canada-Vietnam 
relations into the deep freeze.

Ms. Hogle says it is the isolation from his family and his fiancee, who 
lives in Hamilton, that will eventually kill her son. She said she had 
received a single letter that had been smuggled out of the prison.

"He indicated 'go on with your life, you can't wait for me.' But she can't. 
She's absolutely in love with him. It's like she's sentenced as well."
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