Three Australians to face Hong Kong heroin trial

HONG KONG - Three young Australians are to stand trial in Hong Kong after pleading not guilty yesterday to trying to smuggle $A1 ($NZ1.10) million worth of heroin packed in condoms back home.

Hutchinson Tran 21, unemployed, Rachel Ann Diaz, 17, a hair stylist, and Chris Ha Vo, 15, a fast food worker - all from Sydney - appeared at a committal hearing that lasted a few minutes at the territory's Eastern Magistrates Court.

Tran - from Cabramatta in Sydney's west - is accused of being part of an Asian criminal gang who allegedly arranged the drug shipment.

He faces a maximum jail sentence of 20 years if convicted.

It remains unclear what penalties the two minors, Diaz and Vo, might face.

Prosecutors say the teenagers had been recruited as drug mules and were offered $A200 for each packet of heroin they swallowed before flying home.

According to prosecution sources, Diaz changed her mind and refused to swallow the drugs moments before narcotics officers burst into their Hong Kong hotel room in the downmarket Tsim Tsa Tsui tourist area.

Police allege the raid in April netted one kilogram of heroin stuffed into 114 condoms and glove fingers each five centimetres in length.

After reviewing prosecution's case on paper, Magistrate Winston Leung Wing-chung ruled that the trio had case to answer and would be tried before a seven-member jury in Hong Kong's High Court.

No trial date was set. However, one could be allocated within a month, said Tran's lawyer David Boyton. Diaz and Vo are being represented by legal aid lawyers.

Officials said translation difficulties and a backlog of cases before the High Court means their case might not be heard for another year.

The three are being held in custody and did not apply for bail.

They confirmed their names when appearing together in a secure area of the courthouse where others faced charges including murder, rape, and robbery.

The diminutive Diaz, dwarfed by her co-accused, said "not guilty" in clear voice as did Tran and Vo.

The three -- who allegedly had not met until just before their arrest in April -- did not attempt to communicate with each other in the dock.

Diaz's father Ferdinand -- a familiar sight from previous hearings -- sat in the public gallery in a casual dark open necked shirt.

He talked occasionally to three women acquaintances in Tagalog, the language of his native Philippines.

After the hearing, a visibly weary Ferdinand Diaz said he would attend church in the central Kowloon district of Hong Kong.

"This is a difficult time for our daughter and our family," he said.

"The matter is before (the) courts and we do not wish to comment and we ask the media to respect our privacy."

It was not clear whether the other two defendants had family members present at the hearing.

Diaz's family left its East Hills home in Sydney to be by her side during her detention despite media reports that mother Maria has a serious blood condition.

The family's earlier requests that Diaz be released on bail were turned down.

The case is the latest in a series of drug busts involving Australians in Asia.

Gold Coast woman Schapelle Corby, 28, is serving a 20-year sentence for drugs smuggling in the Indonesian island resort of Bali after a recent appeal ended in failure.

The Bali Nine are also expected to be tried before Indonesia's courts soon. If convicted they could face the death penalty.

- AAP