The distraught wife of the criminal lawyer shot dead execution-style at a Bankstown cafe has arrived home from Vietnam flanked by detectives.
Huong Thu Ngo arrived at the couple’s red-brick rental – just a few hundred metres from where her husband Ho Ledinh was shot two days ago – on Thursday morning with her young children and a family friend.
Ms Ngo flew into Sydney Airport yesterday afternoon where she was told the sad truth about what happened on Tuesday, when a mystery gunman pumped up to four shots into her husband at Happy Cup cafe.
Huong Thu Ngo (pictured), the distraught wife of the criminal lawyer shot dead execution-style at a Bankstown cafe, has arrived home from Vietnam
Slain lawyer Ho Ledinh is pictured with his partner and mother of his three young children
Mr Ledinh was shot dead by a mystery gunman at Banktown’s Happy Cup Cafe (police are pictured at the scene)
Family friends had told her Mr Ledinh was very sick in order to urgently arrange for her to come home from a holiday visiting relates in her native Vietnam.
She had only flown out on January 21, close mate Vivian Vo said.
Huong’s tragic homecoming comes as Daily Mail Australia can reveal new details of Mr Ledinh’s money troubles and his ‘shame’ at being a good lawyer but a poor businessman.
Close friend Van Nguyen said: ‘He poor. He got no money … Some lawyers are millionaire, but he works so hard.
‘Some lawyers are millionaire, (earn) a lot of money, but he works so hard.
Ms Ngo, who flew into Sydney Airport yesterday afternoon, is pictured arriving at the couple’s red-brick rental home
Ms Ngo was flanked by detectives after her partner was shot dead execution-style at a Bankstown cafe
Detectives are pictured arriving at the scene of the fatal shooting on Tuesday
‘He said, ”I do this job, I get money later”. Who do that!? Never!’
Mr Ledinh was sometimes late in paying the rent for his office suite, just metres away from where he was killed this week.
He was so ashamed of failing to meet his obligations he would give Mr Nguyen his money and ask him to go pay the landlord for him.
Mr Nguyen recalled: ‘His rental of his office, for a couple of months, one month, two month, he be late.
A man is seen paying his respects at the scene at the Happy Cup cafe at Bankstown City Plaza
Luggage belonging to the distraught wife of Ho Ledinh are pictured outside their home on Thursday
Ho Ledinh (pictured with his partner and children) was fatally shot at the Happy Cup Cafe (pictured behind) on Tuesday
‘One day he do some job, he got money, he asked me to go … pay rent for him.
‘I ask him, ”why don’t you go?” He said, ”I’m embarrassed”.’
Mr Ledinh was often too embarrassed to ask his clients for money and would do his job pro bono.
Friend Vivian Vo remembered he did work for her in 2004 but insisted he did it for free, striking up a close friendship.
Meantime, official records have shed further light on his financial situation.
Documents from the corporate regulator ASIC confirm Mr Ledinh’s business was deregistered in last March, reportedly due to his money problems.
Mr Ledinh drove a flashy but dated 2002 Jaguar S Type 3.0 sedan, which was still parked on the street on Thursday
Close friend Van Nguyen (pictured) said of Mr Ledinh’s money problems: ‘He poor. He got no money … Some lawyers are millionaire, but he works so hard’
Mr Ledinh was fatally shot in the pelvic region four times at the Happy Cup Cafe (pictured)
Court records show he owed $1,320.00 to a Bankstown school last year.
He lived in a cosy red-brick rental home in Bankstown and drove a flashy but dated 2002 Jaguar S Type 3.0 sedan, which was still parked on the street on Thursday.
Mr Ho was having a coffee with two friends at the Happy Cup café in Bankstown, about 3.45pm on Tuesday, when an unknown gunman fired up to four shots at him.
The New South Wales Police Force’s homicide squad commander, Detective Superintendent Scott Cook, said investigators did not believe the shooting was random.
‘We’re confident the shooting was targeted,’ Detective Superintendent Cook said.
Mr Ho was having a coffee with two friends at the Happy Cup café in Bankstown when he was gunned down
A devastated woman (pictured) broke down at the scene of the fatal shooting on Wednesday
‘He was a criminal solicitor, in the sense that that was his business to practise.
‘He has a lot of clients who are engaged in organised crime and other offences, so that is absolutely a line of inquiry in terms of his business.’ Detective Superintendent Cook said police were unaware of any threat to Mr Ledinh or his family before the shooting.
‘We’re searching for motives at the moment,’ he said. ‘Our focus at the moment is on speaking to witnesses who will provide that sort of detail.’
‘We’re still learning about him, learning about his background outside of his business. That will take us some time and that will require us to engage with the family more deeply.’
The New South Wales Police Force’s homicide squad said investigators did not believe the shooting was random
Police are hunting the killer of Mr Ledinh – well-known for his legal work and as a supporter of the Labor party
The killer was described as having an olive complexion – possibly of Pacific Islander appearance – with a medium build.
Vietnamese-born Mr Ledinh was the principal of Ledinh Lawyers which has its offices in Bankstown’s Old Town Centre Plaza and was admitted as a solicitor in 1999.
He was well-known for his legal work and as a supporter of the Labor party.
He also wrote columns on legal issues for the anti-communist Saigon Times news website in Sydney.
Investigators from Strike Force Eugene are seeking any video footage from shops, dash cams, or mobile phones taken between 2.30pm and 4pm in the vicinity of Chapel Road, Marion Street, North and South Terraces, Greenfield Parade, Restwell Street, and Bankstown City Plaza.