Controlling gamblers to seize property, 4 subjects received 33 years in prison

On the afternoon of May 24, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City held a first-instance trial of the case “Rape property” against defendants Nguyen Tan Hieu (born 1980, residing in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City), Bui Thi Dang (born in 1980, residing in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City). Born in 1973, he lived in Giong Trom, Ben Tre), Bui Thanh Tuan (born in 1989, lived in Mo Cay Nam, Ben Tre) and Tran Viet Chau (born in 1981, lived in Cu Chi district, Ho Chi Minh City). In this case, Nguyen Tan Hieu was identified as the leader.

The defendants appeared in court on the afternoon of May 24

The indictment states that, in August 2019, the defendants lured Mr. Nguyen Quang D. (from Ha Nam) to Cambodia to gamble. The subjects lent Mr. D. 500 chips (1 chip is equivalent to 1 USD) but said it was 500 million VND. During the gambling process at the casino, Mr. D lost all the borrowed money (500 chips).

The group of subjects kept him at a hotel and then called his relatives, wife, mother and sister. D. threatened them mentally, asking to transfer 600 million VND to release Mr. D.

To create pressure, the group threatened that if they didn’t pay, they would beat and sell Mr. D to Thailand for his organs. They also used cotton bandages, red ink… to paint on Mr. D’s body, pretending to be wounds, taking pictures to send to his relatives.

Fearing for her husband’s life, Mr. D’s wife transferred 50 million VND to the subjects in advance to an account named Dien. After receiving the money, they withdraw and divide the account holder’s 1.2 million dong. This amount was then returned by the account holder named Dien to the investigating agency. The rest of the defendants shared spending.

Mr. D.’s wife made a report to the Criminal Police Department of Ha Nam Public Security. On August 22, the Vietnamese Police coordinated with the Kingdom of Cambodia Police to rescue Mr. D and arrest the subjects.

At the trial, the jury sentenced Nguyen Tan Hieu to 10 years in prison, Bui Thi Dang and Bui Thanh Tuan with 8 years in prison, and Tran Viet Chau with 7 years in prison for the same crime of “extorting property”. In addition, the trial panel also sentenced the defendants to be responsible for compensating the entire amount of VND 48.8 million for the victim, Mr. D’s wife.