VIETNAM: Vietnamese prosecutors demanded yesterday that disgraced British glam rocker Gary Glitter serve three to four years in jail if found guilty of molesting two young girls, his lawyer said.
As the one-day trial ended at the communist People's Court in Vung Tau, 120km (75 miles) southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, lawyer Le Thanh Kinh said Vietnam also wanted to deport the 1970s pop icon at the end of his sentence.
The verdict is due to be pronounced today. Under Vietnamese law, he will have 15 days to appeal.
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, grinned broadly to the dozens of foreign journalists covering the trial before being driven off in a green van back to the prison where he has been held since his arrest while trying to leave the country in November.
He refused to answer questions. Earlier, on his arrival at the yellow concrete courthouse - with a Hammer and Sickle flag above the front door - the 61-year-old appeared in defiant mood, waving his fingers in a V for victory sign and declaring: "Innocent".
Clad all in black with dark glasses and wearing a long white goatee beard, he was jostled by the crowd of reporters, cameramen and photographers as he was led upstairs to the courtroom.
He arrived soon after his two accusers, who Vietnamese officials say were aged 13 and under 13 "when they were victimised".
They both wore hats and face masks, leaving only their eyes visible.
Glitter denies the charges and insists he was teaching the girls English.