12:40pm Friday 3rd September 2010
By Anna Roberts
A businessman who has been under arrest in Vietnam for the past six years has had his trial postponed because of bad weather.
Sussex’s Peter Laking was accused of defrauding two business partners out of £143,000 in 2004 – an offence he denies – but is still waiting for his trial to go to court.
Until this happens he is under strict bail conditions which ban him from leaving the Vietnamese capital of Ho Chi Mion City in the south of the country.
The 62-year-old has not been back to his home in Midhurst since his arrest in 2004.
He has suffered a number of strokes and is now understood to be very ill.
The latest delay is likely to come as a blow to Mr Laking who has Brighton Pavilion MP Caroline Lucas campaigning on his behalf.
In 2007 his trial was delayed for the fifth time after the prosecution said vital evidence was not ready at the 11th hour.
Mr Laking’s trial previously cancelled a number of times in 2005 and 2006 for various reasons.
Campaigning group Fair Trials International previously criticised Mr Laking’s treatment, after it was claimed he slept for months on a tiled, prison floor.
Dr Lucas used to be Laking’s MEP when he lived in Midhurst.
Yesterday she said: “The ongoing delays around Peter Laking's legal process in Vietnam are completely unacceptable.
“This has dragged on now for six years, with yet no resolution in sight.
“When British nationals face trial in a foreign country, be it Vietnam or elsewhere, they should be subject to a fair trial based on international standards and norms. If they don't experience that, cases like Mr Laking's should be taken up at a diplomatic level.”
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