Yellowknife (Apr 09/03) - City council voted unanimously Monday to reinstate Diamond Cab driver Phuc Huynh's chauffeur's licence at a special meeting Monday.

Huynh was convicted in February for assault with a weapon and uttering death threats.

With his lawyer Kelly Payne, Huynh and a handful of supportive friends and co-workers, asked council to give him back the licence during an hour-long closed meeting at City Hall.

Huynh, who speaks only basic English, welcomed the decision with a huge grin and made his way around the table to shake the mayor and councillors' hands.

Huynh was found guilty of assault and uttering death threats for his involvement in a fight at a Kam Lake residence last May. Under a Yellowknife bylaw people convicted of a crime have their licence suspended and cannot apply for a chauffeur's license for a minimum of two years after the conviction.

Huynh supports a wife and a seven-year-old daughter with his taxi driving. Huynh testified in February that he was drinking heavily when he accompanied his nephew to what he thought was going to be a party. The pair went to Randy Sutherland's house in Kam Lake. A fight ensued when Sutherland met the pair on the deck outside his house.

The court heard that Huynh brandished a pipe menacingly and threatened to kill Sutherland during the fight.

Huynh's supporters argue that he acted in self-defence when he was pulled into the fight last year.

"If somebody smacked my nephew on the head with a golf club I'd probably do the same thing," said Sherry Graham, office manager for Diamond Cabs. Graham said she's worked with Huynh for eight years and he has a spotless employment record.

Coun. David McCann wouldn't comment on what happened at the closed meeting, but said the unanimous vote shows a strong consensus from council that the public interest would be served by reinstating Huynh's licence.

Payne also declined comment about the meeting but agreed that council acted in the community's interest.

"Here's a long time Yellowknifer with no criminal history before this," she said. "Here's somebody with a lot of community support who's just a really, really nice guy."

Mayor Gord Van Tighem said council has the option of closing meetings under the Cities, Towns and Villages Act with a two-thirds majority vote.

"That's the legal reason we do it, the real reason is because we're dealing with somebody's reputation and we're not a court of law," he said.

Van Tighem added that the mechanism is in part to protect the city from future legal liabilities, if the discussion were to spin out of control.

"We go into camera any time there could be something that could either improve or disprove somebody's ability to do business in the community." Huynh is serving one year probation and community service for the February assault with a weapon and threatening death convictions.