Santa Ana : Refugee Sues Man Who Allegedly Shot Him
A one-time official of the South Vietnamese government filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit Tuesday that names a fellow refugee now awaiting trial on charges of attempting to murder him.
Tran Khanh Van of Santa Ana claimed his assailant shot him after he refused an extortion demand for $10,000 that was supposed to fund anti-communist efforts, according to the lawsuit.
The main defendant in the civil lawsuit is Be Tu Van Tran, who is scheduled for trial on March 30 on attempted murder charges. A jury could not agree on a verdict at his first trial last year. Several anti-communist groups also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Tran Khanh Van also claimed that he was shot because he had been portrayed as favoring normalization of relations with Vietnam.
Van is seeking $50 million in damages. He said he is still in pain from the two gunshot wounds received March 20, 1986, but he declined further comment.
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