Ngo again denies role in MP`s murder

Almost seven years since he was jailed for life as Australia's first political assassin, Phuong Ngo returned to court on Wednesday to again proclaim his innocence. Ngo, the nation's only convicted political assassin, was in June 2001 convicted of arranging the execution of NSW MP John Newman.

Mr Newman, the member for Fairfield, was shot at point-blank range outside his south-western Sydney home on September 5, 1994, as he returned from a Labor party branch meeting. It took an inquest, aborted trial and a hung jury, but Ngo was found guilty in the
NSW Supreme Court of arranging Mr Newman's murder, and sentenced in November 2001. The two men tried as the shooter and getaway car driver were acquitted.

Ngo - once Fairfield's deputy mayor - is ten years into a life term, with his file marked "never to be released". Dressed in a grey suit and large spectacles, the softly-spoken Ngo took the stand on
Wednesday as the first witness at a judicial review of his case.
The specially-convened inquiry was ordered by NSW Chief Justice Jim Spigelman. Counsel assisting the inquiry Andrew Colefax SC said Ngo believes a combination of fresh evidence and review of testimony from the first and second trials will show that he was wrongly convicted.

If review chair David Patten agrees, Ngo could be granted a retrial, or be pardoned by the NSW attorney-general.
Mr Colefax said Mr Newman was a controversial character who prompted hostility from
some, including Ngo - a seasoned independent Fairfield councillor who had defected
to the ALP in 1993.
Both men hailed from the party's right faction but, according to Mr Colefax, "they
were not friends".
"There was, in fact, some hostility between the two, at least from Mr Newman to Mr
Ngo," Mr Colefax said.
Within 24 hours of Mr Newman's murder, as Ngo was en route to Taiwan on council
business, two fellow councillors began naming him as the person who stood to gain
most from Mr Newman's death.
But Ngo told the court he saw the allegations as "purely political", and said the
councillors were seeking "their own political gain in this political game".
Ngo is contesting his conviction on five main grounds, including disparities between
evidence led at the second and third trials.
Albert Ranse, a key witness who allegedly confessed to one of Ngo's friends that he
had murdered Mr Newman, was not called to testify a second time.
Ngo also didn't give evidence at his final trial.
He told Mr Patten that by the time of the 2001 hearing he had surrendered total
control of the case to his lawyers.
The death of his mother midway through proceedings was the final straw and Ngo said
he effectively "gave up".
The Vietnamese immigrant said he agreed with his lawyers not to give evidence and
also followed their advice on the question of Mr Ranse.
Ngo on Wednesday denied that his failure to call Mr Ranse was tacit agreement that
he was not involved in Mr Newman's death.
"If you ask my opinion, whether I believe Mr Ranse had anything to do with it, I am
answering to you now I don't know," he said.
Ngo also told the court he had recently uncovered fresh evidence about soundproofing
of two rooms in the Mekong Club where a key witness claimed to have received a
crucial phone call.
Outside court, Marion Le, a long-time supporter and friend, said Ngo retained his
faith in the justice system.
"This is an issue of life and death," she told reporters.
"He either walks out of here a free man or he remains in prison the rest of his life."