Glam rocker Glitter faces court in Vietnam

Glam rocker Glitter faces court in Vietnam
By Ed CropleyWed Mar 1, 4:23 AM ET

Disgraced British "glam rocker" Gary Glitter faces Vietnamese justice on
Thursday when he appears before a communist People's Court on charges of
molesting young girls.

Vietnamese officials took the unprecedented step on Wednesday 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.

"One was 13 years old and one was under 13 years old when they were
victimized," Foreign Ministry official Nguyen Ngoc Hung told a news
conference for around 50 foreign reporters who flew in to cover the case.

The verdict is due to be pronounced on Friday morning at 10 a.m. (0300
GMT). If found guilty, the 61-year-old Glitter, who denies the charges,
was likely to be jailed for between three and seven years.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, has been kept in a desolate
concrete prison on the outskirts of Vung Tau, a resort town 120 km (70
miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, since he was arrested trying to
flee the country in November.

Despite being surrounded by AK-47-toting guards, mould-encrusted walls
and coils of rusting razor wire -- as well as having to share a cell
with another inmate 24 hours a day -- 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 WAY FROM FAME

His appearance in the yellow concrete courthouse -- complete with Hammer
and Sickle flag above the front door -- will be a far cry from his
chart-topping days in the 1970s.

Back then, it was Glitter the pop superstar belting out anthems 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, facing justice for a second time on
charges relating to abuse of minors.

Reaping the rewards of an unlikely "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 and then Cambodia, where he was dogged by
the media and child rights campaigners in a deeply impoverished country
with a reputation as a haven for pedophiles and perverts.

Hounded out of Cambodia twice, he eventually resurfaced in neighboring
Vietnam and settled down in a beachfront villa in Vung Tau, an "anything
goes" beach town since the days of vacationing U.S. soldiers during the
Vietnam War.

According to local newspapers, the only complaint from neighbors was
about his singing late at night.

"He was very polite and used to say hello every morning when he went out
to do his exercise on waterfront," said Le Thi Muoi, an old woman who
lives next door to his now empty villa. "I don't know if he has done
anything wrong."

However, his relationship with several young girls landed him in trouble
with the authorities in a country keen to present itself as a wholesome,
family-oriented tourist destination.

Under Vietnamese law, Glitter would have 15 days to appeal if found guilty.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060301/people_nm/vietnam_glitter_dc_1