On 13/8, the second day of the trial at the Hung Yen People's Court continued, with Nguyen Tho Lap, 38, a former police officer in Tien Lu district, and Tran Thi Thuy, 36, a kindergarten teacher, facing charges of fraud and property appropriation.

Thuy is accused of perpetrating 23 fraudulent acts between 2014 and 2022. She allegedly fabricated information about land sales to borrow money and solicit joint investments, causing losses of 24.6 billion VND. The victims were all Thuy's acquaintances.

Lap is accused of aiding his friend in two of these cases, with his own cousin as the primary victim.

Thuy and Lap (standing) at the court. Photo: Danh Lam

According to the indictment, in July 2022, Thuy attempted to purchase a plot of land but failed. However, she retained the transfer contract and a notarized copy of the land title certificate from her previous dealings with the landowner. Thuy then used these documents to deceive Ms. Hue, claiming the land was hers. Ms. Hue agreed to the purchase and transferred one billion VND.

When pressed, Thuy fabricated a story about having Lap and his wife co-mortgage a different plot of land (plot A) to secure a bank loan, requiring simultaneous release of both properties. In reality, the two plots had separate mortgages, but Lap supported Thuy's lie to obtain more money.

Thuy promised to sell plot A to Ms. Hue if she paid one billion VND upfront to retrieve the title certificate. They both signed a deposit contract with Lap. Upon receiving the money, Lap did not fulfill the agreement. Thuy then invented further stories about jointly purchasing other properties with Lap to encourage Ms. Hue to lend her more money.

At the end of November 2022, Thuy again enlisted Lap's help in deceiving Ms. Hue. They claimed Lap was involved in transactions for two plots of land (B and C) in Hung Yen City. Thuy presented these as two of five plots purchased from Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep, with a remaining balance of over three billion VND. Lap then persuaded Ms. Hue to buy these two plots.

Following Thuy's instructions, Lap assured Ms. Hue that plots B and C were free of any encumbrances, stating he was directly involved in the transactions and had full authority. He guaranteed that Ms. Hue only needed to pay the remaining three billion VND to Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep, after which he would transfer both plots to her. Trusting Lap, Ms. Hue and her husband agreed.

Meanwhile, Thuy contacted Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep, falsely claiming that Lap was borrowing money from Ms. Hue to purchase their land. She asked them to pre-sign the land sale contracts with Lap to reassure Ms. Hue and secure the loan.

On 28/11/2022, Thuy, Lap, Ms. Hue, and her husband met with Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep. As pre-arranged with Thuy, Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep falsely confirmed the ongoing sale of the two plots to Lap, stating they needed three billion VND to complete the deal. They also presented three land title certificates. Believing their claims, Ms. Hue and her husband transferred 1.4 billion VND to Lap to give to Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep.

Lap signed the contracts with Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep. Thuy then called a notary public, urging them to expedite the process. However, that same evening, Mr. Hai and Mrs. Tiep contacted the notary, instructing them not to authenticate the documents and to retrieve the land title certificates, as stated by the VKS (People's Procuracy).

Over the next 8 months, Thuy defrauded Ms. Hue and her husband 12 more times, using similar land sale schemes. In total, Ms. Hue lost 11.2 billion VND, making her the biggest victim in the case.

"Don't worry, I would never lead you to ruin," Lap reassured his cousin.

Testifying in court, Thuy stated that in addition to teaching, she also engaged in real estate. Initially successful, her business began incurring losses in 2015. She resorted to defrauding acquaintances to repay debts and continue investing. Some victims were repeatedly targeted because she "perceived them as wealthy."

Thuy met Ms. Hue (Lap's cousin) through Lap and planned to defraud her. When questioned by the presiding judge about whether she had prompted Lap to lie to gain Ms. Hue's trust, Thuy remained silent. After three attempts, she initially claimed "not to remember," then admitted to doing so.

Thuy confessed to asking Lap to assure the victim that the land was legitimate and under his name, requiring only a loan from Ms. Hue to finalize the purchase from the previous owners before selling it to her.

Lap immediately denied this, claiming no prior discussion with Thuy. He insisted he only "relayed" Thuy's statements to Ms. Hue. He admitted to occasionally "exaggerating" information about the land to encourage Ms. Hue to invest quickly.

Lap explained that he signed the documents and contracts related to the land sales at Thuy's request, "without reading the content," hoping for a swift and successful transaction. "I knew nothing about land sales and assumed the signatures were merely procedural," Lap stated.

The presiding judge reprimanded him: "You were a police chief, yet you signed transfer contracts and deposit agreements for land not belonging to you, providing assurances to your cousin without reading the documents. This is highly problematic. Some documents even bear your wife's forged signature, which you still signed despite noticing. While ignorance might be excusable for ordinary citizens, it is not for you."

Present at the trial, Ms. Hue affirmed she would never have given Thuy money without her cousin, the police officer's, assurances. Each time Thuy requested a transfer or loan, Ms. Hue would call Lap to confirm the details. Only after Lap's confirmation would she transfer the funds. "When I confronted them about the land and demanded repayment, Lap reassured me, 'I guarantee everything is fine. I would never lead you to ruin,'" the victim stated.

The trial is ongoing.

Thanh Lam