A SYDNEY man was sentenced to death in Vietnam

A SYDNEY man was sentenced to death in Vietnam yesterday for trying to smuggle almost a kilogram of heroin to Sydney in his underwear, as two other Australians prepared to face trial in Hanoi tomorrow on unrelated heroin trafficking charges.

The convicted man, 40-year-old Tony Manh, will be supported in his expected appeal for clemency by the Australian Government, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said last night.

"Recently, the fact that many Australians of Vietnamese descent are involved in trafficking heroin from Vietnam to Australia has become a phenomenon," said Phan Tanh of the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City.

Manh was caught with the drugs on March 3 at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City as he prepared to board a flight to Sydney. He told the court he was paid $US10,000 to transport the drugs out of the country.