Bus owner hides tiger carcass on passenger vehicle roof

Ngo Sy Sau, owner of a bus company, was hired to transport a tiger carcass from Laos to Vietnam for 80 million dong, instructing his staff to conceal it in a secret compartment on the bus roof.

On the afternoon of 28/8, the Ha Tinh Provincial People's Court sentenced Ngo Sy Sau, 41, to three years in prison and an additional fine of 50 million dong. Nguyen Trong Hung, 47, received four years in prison, while Chu Van Lam, 37, was given a three-year suspended sentence, and Ngo Sy Bac, 38, received a two-year, six-month suspended sentence. All were convicted of violating regulations on the protection of endangered, rare, and precious animals.

In court, the defendants admitted their guilt, stating that greed motivated their actions. They expressed a desire for reduced sentences to atone for their mistakes and care for their families.

According to the indictment, Sau owns the Sau Hoa bus company, which operates a route between Dien Chau, Nghe An, and Vientiane, Laos. On 24/7/2025, while in TP HCM, Sau received a phone call from an unidentified man who offered to pay approximately 80 million dong to transport a 133 kg tiger carcass from Vientiane to Vietnam.

Sau accepted the offer and assigned Lam, the bus company manager, along with bus assistants Hung and Bac, to handle the transport. On the evening of 25/7/2025, when the bus reached Road 13 in Vientiane province, Lam's group received a sack from six Lao individuals and transported it to a warehouse about 20 km away.

At the warehouse, Lam opened a specially constructed secret compartment on the roof of the passenger bus to conceal the cargo, following Sau's instructions.

Police searching the passenger bus found the frozen tiger in July 2025. Video: Hung Le

The next morning, as the bus traveled along National Highway 8A through Son Giang commune (formerly part of Huong Son district), traffic police stopped it for inspection. Three people on the bus fled into the fields. Lam and Hung were apprehended, while Bac surrendered the following day.

During the vehicle inspection, authorities discovered a dead 133 kg tiger and 25 pieces of tiger bone in the secret compartment above the front of the bus.

A few days later, Sau was arrested.

The tiger carcass being removed from the bus roof, 26/7/2025. Photo: Hung Le

According to the investigating agency, Sau played the primary role by accepting payment to transport the tiger carcass. Lam, Bac, and Hung directly assisted him.

Hung faced aggravating circumstances due to two prior convictions that had not been expunged.