Activist Charged In Singer Attack

An activist who sprayed a Vietnamese singer with an irritant during a concert was recently found guilty of misdemeanor assault and felony use of tear gas by jurors in San Jose, Calif.

Ly Tong reportedly dressed up as an old woman and sprayed singer Dam Vinh Hung with a form of pepper spray when he bent down during a concert at the Santa Clara Convention Center in July 2010.

Tong could have faced life in prison under California’s “three strikes” law. Jurors also found the man guilty of second-degree burglary with intent to commit a felony, but acquitted him a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, the Contra Costa Times reported.

The jury apparently had trouble deciding whether Tong used actual pepper spray or a combination of fish sauce and perfume to spray the singer during the incident, which he claimed was to protest communism.

Tong faces up to three years and eight months in jail, the Times said. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 22.