Better Man

Twenty-two year old Vietnamese-Australian Van Tuong Nguyen had never had a criminal conviction in his life. Finding his family in serious debt, Van takes it upon himself to fly to Phnom Penh, Cambodia to traffic heroin on behalf of a drug cartel. He is drawn to visit Vietnam for the first time, the land of his mothers birth. Van must first go to Cambodia, strap nearly half a kilogram of heroin onto his body and carry the packets out of the country via Singapore - a country where the death penalty awaits if he is discovered with the drugs.

Van is taken to the Central Narcotics Bureau where his interrogation begins with Ramesh, a bright, young agent eager to obtain Vans signature and admission of guilt. But as the interview proceeds and Van explains his family circumstances to Ramesh, the CNB agent has a change of heart realizing Vans motive in was to help his family pay off debts accrued by his twin brother, Khoa. Ramesh attempts to explain the boys plight to his senior boss Superintendent Lau. But Lau is deeply disturbed by the large quantity of heroin being trafficked through his country and wants a conviction. He takes over the interrogation and pushes for Van to sign an admission of guilt before a representative from the Australian consulate arrives.

When Kim Nguyen discovers that her son has been imprisoned in Singapore for drug trafficking, she seeks out a lawyer to help him. With no finances and little English, the single mothers only hope lies in Julian McMahon, a Melbourne lawyer with a reputation for working pro bono. Julian initially refuses to take on Vans plight, knowing the pressures a capital punishment case will have on his family. But he eventually agrees and enlists the aid of prominent QC, Lex Lasry to spearhead the campaign to save Vans life. When the team uncover that the drugs Van carried were improperly handled after being seized by Singaporean authorities, the procedural error becomes their one chance to save Van from impending execution.

Julian and Lex seek clemency from Singapores President to spare their clients life. But their efforts are seriously hindered by Van himself who has declared that he no longer wishes to fight for his life as he is now at peace with his fate. Van eventually has a change of heart when he realises that the nation is behind him the result of a grass roots campaign driven by Kim and Vans closest friends, Kelly, Rachel and Bronwyn. Despite the campaigns success, clemency fails and a date of execution is set. As Vans lawyers, friends and family prepare themselves for the inevitable, Van receives an unexpected final visit from his twin brother, Khoa.