Supreme Court of Canada to rule on appeal of Graham McMynn’s kidnapper

OTTAWA – The Supreme Court of Canada will rule today on the appeal of one of the men involved in the 2006 kidnapping of Graham McMynn.

Sam Tuan Vu was among five men charged after McMynn, the son of a wealthy Vancouver businessman, was grabbed at gunpoint from his car and held for eight days before he was rescued by police.

The trial judge acquitted Vu of the kidnapping, but convicted him of the lesser charge of unlawful confinement.

The trial judge concluded there was no evidence Vu was involved when McMynn was moved between three different houses in the British Columbia’s Lower Mainland — meaning he couldn’t be found guilty of the kidnapping charge.

But the B.C. Appeal Court overturned the acquittal, ruling the trial judge was wrong to conclude Vu was guilty only of holding McMynn against his will, rather than the far more serious offence of kidnapping.

The appeal court judges decided it was clear Vu was involved in holding McMynn against his will and knew full well he’d been kidnapped, making him a party to the kidnapping and guilty of that offence.

Vu was sentenced to eight years, but the appeal court has ordered a new sentencing hearing because kidnapping carries a maximum sentence of life in prison — far greater than the 10-year maximum for unlawful confinement.