Viet pair cleared of fire killings

TWO defendants accused of murdering 24 Vietnamese refugees during the Lunar New Year Sek Kong blaze were acquitted yesterday.

Hoang Sanh Tong, 22, and Tham Phu Mya were cleared 347 days into the High Court murder hearing.

The pair, both South Vietnamese, had been accused of murdering North Vietnamese fellow inmates at the Sek Kong detention centre on February 3, 1992.

It was alleged they turned one of the huts into an inferno after igniting blankets and mosquito nets.

The jury was not told why Hoang and Tham were acquitted. Six of the original 14 defendants have now been cleared.

The trial before Mr Justice Gall looks likely to continue into next year.