Gary Glitter appeal date set

Apr 30, 2006, 0:00 GMT

Hanoi - Convicted child molester and former rock star Gary Glitter will have his appeal case heard by a Vietnamese high court on May 19, his lawyer said on Sunday.

'We will try once more,' said Le Thanh Kinh, the attorney for Glitter. 'I hope that he will be subject to a lower sentence. I would like to see it as low as two years.'

Glitter is appealing the three-year prison sentence he received in March after he was found guilty of committing obscene acts with two underage girls. The former flamboyant British singer was also ordered to give each child's family 320 dollars as well as pay court costs.

The judge said that the reason Glitter received the minimum sentence is because he had already 'compensated' each girl 2,000 dollars before the trial.

Glitter, whose real name is Paul Francis Gadd, is technically eligible for parole after he completes one-third of his sentence. Even if he does not win his appeal he could be out of prison by Christmas.

After he is released, the judge ordered Glitter deported to Britain where it is believed he could face additional molestation charges.

Before his arrest, Glitter was living in Vung Tau, a seaside resort town in southern Vietnam.

In 1999 he was convicted, and served jail time, in Britain for possessing child pornography. Glitter was later expelled from Cambodia, a country favored by paedophiles.

Glitter's appeal is scheduled to be heard by the People's Supreme Court in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.