Phuong Ngo - Aftermath

Aftermath

In June 2003, evidence was found that Ngo was a member of the W2K (willing to kill) gang, a group of prisoners willing to use any means to escape and he was transferred to the Goulburn Correctional Centre, a Supermax Prison. The High Court of Australia refused special leave to hear an appeal in May 2004. Two of Ngo's co-accused conspirators, David Dinh and Tu Quang Dao were acquitted by the same jury.

A number of Phuong Ngo's supporters have stated that he was convicted on flimsy evidence. He was a prominent leader in the Vietnamese Catholic community, which held prayer services for him in the hope that he would be acquitted of the murder. However, almost 300 leaders in the Vietnamese community signed a petition to the Supreme Court requesting that Ngo be denied bail.

In an enquiry after Newman's death, but prior to charges being laid, the inquiry heard evidence that the victim considered the Mekong Club, a Vietnamese social club that Ngo effectively ran in Cabramatta to be a "gambling den".

The prosecution in Ngo's case claimed that John Newman was a political rival of Ngo in that Ngo wanted his seat in Parliament. However, senior Australian Labor Party figures including former General Secretary John Della Bosca swore on oath that Ngo had in fact strong support for another seat, in the Legislative Council.

In April 2005, China sponsored five Fairfield Council members to visit China in order to improve the relationship that had deteriorated due to Ngo's support of Taiwan.

An inquiry was launched into the conviction of Phuong Ngo on 6 June 2008, by order of Chief Justice James Spigelman of the New South Wales Supreme Court. The inquiry was overseen by former and Acting District Court judge, David Patten, and addressed several concerns raised as to the validity of the original conviction. On 17 April 2009 Patten ruled that the original conviction was sound.

Following the inquiry, calls were made to have Ngo's name removed from monuments in Cabramatta. Mayor Nick Lalich stated that Ngo’s name would not be removed from any plaque in Fairfield City as Ngo had too many friends on the council. Calls for the council to name a landmark in honour of Newman have been rejected.