The family of Naw Kham, the godfather of the now defunct Mekong protection racket who is awaiting court decision in China’s Yunnan province, has recently engaged a solicitor in Hong Kong to act on his behalf, according to a source close to his family.

No further details were given. “You’re a journalist,” the source said. “I have told you what I know. It’s your job to follow up.”

More than 3 weeks after Naw Kham and his 5 followers, who has been charged with killing 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong on 5 October 2011, went on trial on 20-21 September, there has been no report from the collegiate bench appointed to review the case. Sentencing is to take place after its examination, according to Xinhua.

Earlier, a Thai lawyer had commented that Naw Kham stood an excellent chance of being acquitted if he were tried in Thailand. “(The evidences produced at the trial) are not sufficient to convict him,” he told SHAN.

He however admitted he knew very little about Chinese laws. “But members of his family should do what they can to help him,” he suggested. “They should hire a lawyer, if possible a Chinese lawyer, to find if he could get a lighter sentence.”
Naw Kham, who, from 2006 to until his capture in Laos in April, had been running a protection racket in the Golden Triangle, where Laos, Burma and Thailand meet. He has been charged of the killing of 13 Chinese sailors on 5 October 2011. 9 Thai military officers have also been accused of involvement in the murders.