Disgraced British glam rocker Gary Glitter goes on trial in Vietnam on Thursday charged with committing obscene acts with young girls in a case that could see the faded star sentenced to up to seven years in jail.
The 61-year-old former showman, perhaps better remembered for his platform boots, sequinned outfits and bouffant wigs than his music, is expected to plead not guilty when he appears in court in southern Vietnam.
The people’s court in the town of Vung Tau, an improbable mixture of seaside resort and petro-chemical centre, will hear the case behind closed doors and should reach its verdict on Friday.
Glitter, born Paul Francis Gadd, has been held in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau since November, when he was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese police detained him as he prepared to flee the country for Thailand after the British tabloid press revealed that he had been living with Vietnamese girls.
The charges against him detail obscene acts with two girls aged 11 and 12.
Prosecutors first sought charges of child rape, which could have carried the death penalty, but later reduced them, reportedly for lack of evidence.
Glitter’s lawyer Le Thanh Kinh said last week he had failed to convince Glitter to plead guilty in order to get a more lenient sentence.
”Glitter still rejects all accusations. He has consistently said he only invited the young girls into his home to teach them English. And they did not dare to leave his home late at night for fear of ghosts,” Kinh said.
Glitter paid a total of $4 000 to the families of the two Vietnamese girls in December and tried in vain to obtain his release on bail.
If found guilty, he would have to serve his prison term in a Vietnamese jail. The court could also decide to deport him after serving his sentence.
The trial is being held behind closed doors to protect the identity of the two girls, but a press conference is scheduled immediately after the verdict is delivered to satisfy media curiosity.
In his 1970s heyday, Glitter was the dazzling king of the glam era and sold more than 20-million records with a string of stomping hits including I’m The Leader Of The Gang [I Am].
But his reputation was dealt a fatal blow when he was handed a jail sentence in Britain after he was found with a massive collection of child pornography.
Glitter was sentenced in 1999 to four months, of which he served two, after admitting 54 charges of downloading indecent pictures from the internet.
He later moved to Cambodia and was permanently expelled in 2002, allegedly for trawling for underage sex, although Cambodian officials did not specify his crime or file charges.
Legal officials in Vung Tau have been busy gearing up for the trial, set to attract a small horde of international media.
A prosecution official said he felt the glare of the world’s media on the town, despite Glitter’s fame apparently not having reached Vietnam the first time around in the 1970s, when the country was still at war.
”It’s the first time that a foreigner known the world over has been on trial for such a sensitive crime in our province,” said prosecutor Tran Chuong.
One of his prison guards, Dang Van Son, added: ”Glitter’s health is normal and he’s in good spirits. He met his lawyer again on Friday and has made no special requests to the management.”
”He’s a fairly old man and we’re treating him properly, like everyone else and he has not complained about anything, not even the physical conditions here,” he said. – Sapa-AFP