Gary Glitter goes on trial
2006-03-02 07:37
Vung Tau - Disgraced British
"glam rocker" Gary Glitter went on trial at a People's Court in
communist Vietnam on Thursday on charges of molesting two young
girls.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was brought to the
yellow concrete courthouse - a Hammer and Sickle emblem above
the front door - from the prison where he has been held since
he was arrested in November as he tried to leave the country.
"Innocent," the 61-year-old said when asked from a jostling
crowd of reporters, cameramen and photographers how he would
plead at the trial in Vung Tau, a resort town 120 km southeast of Ho Chi Minh City.
Clad in black, he waved his fingers in a 'V' for victory
sign as he arrived shortly after the two girls, wearing hats
and face masks which left only their eyes visible, entered the
courtroom.
Vietnamese officials have taken the unprecedented step of
briefing reporters about the one-day closed-door hearing, in
which the 1970s rock icon will come face-to-face with his
accusers, girls he said he was teaching English.
The verdict is due to be pronounced at 10:00 on Friday. If found guilty, Glitter is likely to be sentenced
to three to seven years in jail and will have 15 days to
appeal.
He has already spent more than three months in a two-man
cell at desolate concrete prison on the outskirts of Vung Tau,
surrounded by AK-47-toting guards, mould-encrusted walls and
coils of rusting razor wire.
But Glitter remained in good spirits, his lawyer said.
"I think he is very relaxed," Le Thanh Kinh told Reuters on
the eve of the hearing. "He told me: 'I need to look very good
because there will be many journalists when I appear in court'.
He also asked me to get him some black t-shirts to wear."
Long fall from grace
But he is a long way from his chart-topping days in the
1970s.
Then, it was Glitter the Superstar belting out songs such
as "I'm the Leader of the Gang" and "Rock and Roll (Parts 1 and
2)" in his trademark sequined jumpsuits, bouffant wigs and
outrageous high-heeled boots.
Now, it is Glitter the Fallen Idol, in court for a second
time on charges relating to abuse of minors.
Reaping the rewards of a "high-camp" comeback in the 1990s,
his career disintegrated when a computer repair shop in Britain
alerted police to dozens of images of child pornography on the
hard drive of his computer.
He was sentenced to four months in prison in November 1999.
On his release, he asked reporters to leave him alone, saying:
"I have served my time."
He disappeared first to Cuba, then Cambodia. Hounded out of
Cambodia twice, he eventually resurfaced in neighbouring
Vietnam and settled down in a beachfront villa in Vung Tau,
once a haven for vacationing US soldiers during the Vietnam
War.