On January 12, Nguyen Van Thuan, a former investigator with Thu Duc City Police, Le Viet Tien, a former prosecutor with the Thu Duc City People's Procuracy, and Ngo Trong Hieu, a civil defense guard, were tried at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for fraud and appropriation of property.

Pham Trung Hai, 34, the central figure in the case, faces three charges: fraud and appropriation of property, abuse of trust for property appropriation, and using forged documents of an organization.

According to the indictment, around March 2022, Hai met Thao, the wife of Nguyen Thanh Tan, who had been detained by Thu Duc City Police on theft charges. Thao asked Hai to help her husband secure bail.

Through civil defense guard Hieu, Hai met Thuan, who was then an officer in the Thu Duc City Police's General Investigation Team. Hai sought Thuan's help to get Tan released on bail. Thuan agreed, setting a price of 200-300 million VND. However, Hai inflated this amount, demanding Thao pay a total of 400 million VND. Thao agreed, requesting to pay in installments due to her family's financial difficulties.

The defendants at court today were isolated during questioning. Photo: Hai Duyen

After receiving the money, Hai contacted Thuan twice to hand it over, but Thuan told him to "keep it" and introduced him to Le Viet Tien. Hai subsequently gave the prosecutor 80 million VND across two instances: 20 million VND in cash outside Tien's office and 60 million VND via bank transfer.

Authorities determined that Hai paid Hieu 15 million VND for the introduction and Thuan 10 million VND, using the remaining amount for personal expenses.

Hai is also accused of continuing to provide false information, claiming more money was needed to help Tan, and demanding additional funds from Thao. With no more cash, Thao entrusted her motorbike to Hai to pawn, but he sold the vehicle for 130 million VND and appropriated the proceeds.

Additionally, Hai falsely claimed he could secure a reduced sentence for Nguyen Xuan Vinh, who was arrested in the same case as Thao's husband. He met Vinh's brother, Nguyen Xuan Oanh, requesting 150 million VND. As Vinh's family lacked sufficient funds, Oanh paid Hai 120 million VND.

In late 2022, the Thu Duc City People's Court conducted the first-instance trial, sentencing Nguyen Thanh Tan to two years and six months in prison and Vinh to two years and nine months.

When her husband was not released on bail, Thao demanded that Hai return the money and the motorbike. Hai then purchased a motorbike with fake registration papers and license plates bearing Nguyen Thanh Tan's name from Facebook to return to Thao.

Similarly, Oanh contacted Hai to demand his money back after his brother was not released, but Hai evaded him.

During the investigation and at court, Hai and Hieu admitted their actions, while Thuan and Tien denied the indictment.

Thuan stated that he did not conspire with or receive money from Hai. He claimed he only provided Tien's phone number so Tan's family could thank the prosecutor for helping them retrieve two motorbikes seized in the theft case.

Similarly, former prosecutor Tien also asserted that he did not receive money to "fix the case" for Tan. He claimed the 60 million VND received via bank transfer was given by Tan's family to be forwarded to the investigator who assisted in retrieving their two motorbikes. Tien stated he transferred 55 million VND to the investigator handling Tan's case, keeping only 5 million VND for himself.

After several hours of questioning, the judicial panel deliberated and decided to return the case file for further investigation to clarify additional details.