Priest expects 1000 at Van Nguyen funeral

More than 1000 people are likely to attend the funeral service for executed drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van, according to Melbourne priest Fr Peter Hansen, who will lead tomorrow's service.

Australian Associated Press reports that Nguyen's public funeral service will be held at St Patrick's Catholic Cathedral, in East Melbourne.

Up to 1000 people turned up for a multi-faith service held last month at the same cathedral, which Father Peter Hanson said was sufficiently large to hold the increased numbers expected to attend the funeral.

"I think it will be bigger, I'm not worried by that fact, I rejoice in the fact that so many people want to stand in support of his family," he said.

Nguyen, the 25-year-old former Melbourne salesman, went to the gallows in Singapore's Changi Prison last Friday almost three years after being caught at Changi Airport with nearly 400 grams of heroin.

Fr Hanson said the family had requested his funeral service be a celebration of the 25-year-old's life instead of a political statement about the death sentence.

He said the service would be traditional, despite reports Nguyen had requested the Robbie Williams song Better Man be played.

"Van made the positive choice as an adult to be baptised as a Catholic and so we send him to God in accordance with Catholic rights, so it will be a wholly Catholic service, but it will be a bilingual service," he said.

Ms Nguyen played a key role at the multi-faith service, but would not be doing any readings this time, Fr Hanson said.

"She will be the chief mourner as his immediate next of kin. I don't think there's a task currently allocated to her, I think she will probably just take the experience in," he said.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Tues, 6 December 2005
Source: Catholic News (Australia Web)
Website: http://www.cathnews.com