Gunned-down criminal lawyer ‘owed money to the wrong people’

A criminal lawyer gunned down in southwest Sydney was in debt and owed money to “the wrong people’’.

Vivian Vo in tears at the scene of the killing. Picture: John Grainger

A criminal lawyer gunned down in southwest Sydney was in debt and owed money to “the wrong ­people”, but told friends he wasn’t aware of any threat.

Ho Ledinh, a 65-year-old father of five, died minutes after he was shot up to four times outside the Happy Cup Cafe at Bankstown City Plaza in broad daylight on Tuesday.

The Daily Telegraph reports Mr Ledinh was in “a lot of debt”, ­according to a source, and deregistered his law firm Ledinh Lawyers Pty Ltd for six months last year because of financial troubles.

Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, commander of the NSW Police Force State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, yesterday said Mr Ledinh’s work as a criminal lawyer remained one of their major lines of inquiry.

“He has a lot of clients who are engaged in organised crime and other offences,” Superintendent Cook said, “so that is absolutely a line of inquiry.”

He said he did not believe Mr Ledinh had approached police with concerns for his welfare and did not think any words were exchanged between the victim and his ­attacker before the killing.

The site remained cordoned off by police tape yesterday, with a large bloodstain on the ground and medical equipment used by paramedics in their attempt to keep him alive still sitting in a pile. A friend, Vivian Vo, collapsed in tears at the sight of the blood, while a small tribute of food and incense was left at the scene.

Barrister Terry Luckman, who had worked with Mr Ledinh, said he was “devastated” at the loss of his friend of 20 years. “We worked together for many, many criminal trials,” Mr Luckman said.

“He was a friend as well as a colleague.” He spoke to Mr Ledinh two days before his execution-style murder, saying his friend “wasn’t aware of any threat”.

“No, he didn’t mention anything to me. I said I was going to help him with this criminal application,” he said.

Police are still hunting the killer, a man described as being of ­Pacific Islander appearance wearing a yellow high-­visibility shirt, a green raincoat, sunglasses and cap, and was last seen fleeing on foot with a handgun.

Police searched bins yesterday for a bottle from which he was seen drinking in CCTV footage.

Mr Luckman described Mr ­Ledinh, a father of five, as “a very nice guy” who had endured a hard life before seeking safety in Australia. “I was aware of his fairly tough background,” he said. “He escaped Vietnam thanks to the Americans and while his brother moved to the US and became an attorney, Ho moved to Australia and became a lawyer. He called me seeking advice on an application he needed to fill out regarding a criminal matter in Sydney.”

Mr Ledinh was well-known among the Vietnamese community in Bankstown.

“He spent his life helping the Vietnamese community,” Mr Luckman said. “All the time I knew him, he was usually looking after Vietnamese people, especially the younger generations. Their parents would go to Ho, and he would try and sort out their problems and try and explain how the Australian legal system worked.”