On the day Pol Pot dies, gang found guilty of murdering star of the

RELATIVES of Cambodian killing fields survivor and Oscar winner Haing Ngor wept as three members of a gang were convicted of his murder on the day of Pol Pot's death.

Ngor's relatives and friends vowed to carry on his work which, ironically, included discouraging youths from joining gangs.

The trio found guilty of his murder gunned him down in a robbery outside his Chinatown home to buy crack cocaine, according to prosecutors. "Nothing we do can bring him back to me now," said niece Sophia Ngor, tears streaming down her face, "but I will always cherish his memory". "His name must go on," added goddaughter Sundary Rama. "His way was to be strong, life to go on whatever happened." The activist, humani- tarian and co-star of the 1984 British film, The Killing Fields, rescued both women from certain death in camps during the Cambodian genocide. In contrast to their tears, Tak Sun Tan, 21, Jason Chan, 20, and Indra Lim, 20, showed no emotion as three separate juries found them guilty of robbery and murder. Ngor handed over an expensive watch to the members of the Oriental Lazy Boys gang but died when he refused to give up a gold locket containing a photo of his late wife. "His whole goal was to help his people and, ironically, to encourage youth to stay out of gangs," said friend Jack Ong. "He always encouraged them to stay in school, stay away from the gang activity," added Sophia Ngor. Family and friends said Ngor gave away virtually everything he owned before his death two years ago and they would continue his work through a foundation. The convictions were handed down as reports confirmed the death of Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, on whose orders nearly two million people were killed. Ngor, 55, survived four years of torture in the camps before fleeing to the US where he led an international campaign to bring Pol Pot and others to justice. His family suspected his death was a political assassination but police called it just another "brutal, senseless killing that we see too much of in Los Angeles". Ngor might have survived had he followed his own advice to fellow Cambodians living in the gang-plagued city. "He always told Cambodians, 'If you're robbed, give up everything. No possession is worth your life,'" recalled a friend.

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