Gang is jailed for horrific killing

Four Vietnamese gang members who battered a father-of-three to death in a remote Smallfield farmhouse have been jailed for life.

Khach Nguyen, 36, was beaten so severely after failing to raise a £30,000 ransom that he later died from his injuries.

Gang members Giang Vu, 21, and Hoc Kim Khoa, 32, pounded Nguyen at the property they rented, the Sanctuary on Hollesley Farm, Normans Road, Smallfield, in July last year, along with accomplices Duc Vu, 22, and Dunt Dinh, 27.

It later emerged that Khoa – said to be a leading figure in the gang – was freed just hours before the murder.

He had been arrested with two other illegal immigrants after being stopped for speeding.

But they were bailed on July 29, just hours before the beating.

The Old Bailey heard Mr Nguyen was killed after falling foul of a drugs ring growing and selling skunk cannabis in the south of England.

He had set up a deal with two men to buy £30,000 of the class B drug near a McDonalds car park in Sutton, Surrey.

But when the gang was robbed of the drugs at gunpoint, they blamed Nguyen and demanded he pay for the loss.

Both he and his driver Phuc Tran were taken to the Sanctuary, where they were held hostage.

Prosecutor Victor Temple QC said: "They were subjected to prolonged physical violence and given the opportunity to contact their families by phone in order to raise the required £30,000."

Giving evidence from behind a curtain screen, Mr Tran said he saw members of the gang stamping on Mr Nguyen's head, neck and chest.

Mr Nguyen was not taken to hospital until the pair were driven back to a house in Loddiges Road, South Hackney, in the early hours of July 30.

On Tuesday (December 23), following a six-week trial at the Old Bailey, Giang Vu, 21, Khoa, 32, Duc Vu, 22, and Dunt Dinh, 27, were all jailed for life after being convicted of murder.

Khoa will serve a minimum of 17 years behind bars before being considered for parole, Giang Vu and Dunt Dinh will both serve a minimum of 16 years and Duc Vu will serve a minimum of 15 years.

Tuan Pham, 25, who was known as "watcher man", was jailed for three-and-a-half years for false imprisonment.

Jurors failed to reach verdicts in relation to Hung Mai, 27, who denies murder, two counts of false imprisonment and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He now faces a retrial.

Sentencing the gang, Judge Richard Hone QC said: "No man deserved to die like he did. The effect of your actions has a much greater effect than the death of the individual. It had an effect on the family and on the children."

He recommended all five should be deported after serving their sentences.