A mastermind and shooter behind the brazen and callous murder of a criminal lawyer outside a Bankstown cafe have been jailed for decades, however mystery still surrounds the crime which shocked Sydney.
Ho Ledinh, 65, was murdered when he was shot three times in the back as he sat with two friends outside the Happy Cup Cafe on a busy stretch of Bankstown Plaza in January 2018.
Arthur Kelekolio admitted to firing three shots into Mr Ledinh’s back and pleaded guilty in April last year as the matter was set to go to trial.
Co-conspirator Abraham Sinai, who helped plan the killing and drove the getaway car, was found guilty by a jury in June last year.
Neither reacted as they watched via videolink and learned their fates when they were sentenced by Supreme Court Justice Robert Hulme on Friday afternoon.
Graphic CCTV played to the jury during Sinai’s trial showed the moments Kelekolio pulled out a .45 calibre gun and fired a volley of shots into Mr Ledinh’s back.
He then made his getaway by weaving through backstreets, with the court hearing he at one point stopped to threaten and point his gun at good Samaritans who had given chase.
The vision showed Mr Ledinh attempting to get to his feet, however he collapsed on the ground and died at the scene soon after due to blood loss.
Sinai was sentenced for his role in the joint criminal enterprise which included driving past the Happy Cup Cafe just bxjmtzywefore the shooting to scout where Mr Ledinh was sitting.
After the murder, Kelekolio met up with Sinai in an East Terrace parking lot and was driven from the scene in a Nissan Elgrand.
Police also seized $126,000 after they pulled over three cars – one carrying Sinai and another two carrying his relatives.
While only $6000 was found in Sinai’s vehicle, he was later overheard in police phone taps claiming ownership of the entire sum of $126,000.
Justice Hulme described the killing as “abhorrent” and said it must have caused “shock and great fear” for witnesses.
He said the true motives for the shooting remain unclear, though found they had some link to Mr Ledinh’s connection to known drug dealers who he represented.
“The foregoing evidence was incapable of establishing definitively a motive for the murder,” Justice Hulme said.
“It seems, however, to have been common ground that the murder had something to do with Mr Ledinh’s association with persons involved in quite serious criminality.”
At trial, Mr Ledinh’s wife, Thi Huong Ngo, gave evidence about her husband’s connection to Tri Van Nguyen.
Ms Ngo said she was told Mr Nguyen was “a big drug dealer” and that her husband worked for him as a debt collector, Justice Hulme said.
Another witness said that in 2017 he saw Mr Ledinh in an animated phone conversation, during which he argued with a man named “Khai” about a debt.
“Khai owed the money, but he did not repay,” Mr Ledinh told him.
Justice Hulme said there was also evidence Sinai had claimed he was Khai’s “right hand man” and “debt collector.”
Justice Hulme said the way the murder was carried out was “indicative” of some involvement in underworld activity and Mr Ledinh’s “associations with persons involved in quite serious criminality”.
“Mr Sinai was not involved in the murder for no reason, nor was he acting solely to serve some interest of his own,” Justice Hulme said.
“There is no suggestion he was acquainted with Mr Ledinh or had any prior dealings with him.
“It can be inferred beyond a reasonable doubt that he was acting to bring about a terribly serious crime to serve a serious criminal objective of one or more other persons, though the evidence is incapable of establishing whose.”
Kelekolio wrote claiming he “honestly never intended to hurt anyone that day” and previously told the court he intended to hit Mr Ledinh in the leg.
Justice Hulme described him as an unreliable witness, but gave him a discount on his sentence due to his guilty plea.
Kelekolio was sentenced to 27 years in jail, however will be eligible for release in November 2041 after receiving a 20-year, three-month non-parole period.
Sinai was given a 30-year sentence and a 22-year, six-month non-parole period.
