"I bought this land and built my house when my hair was still black, now it's gray and I still haven't received the land title. When we learned our plot had been transferred to someone else and then mortgaged, my wife and I couldn't sleep or eat. We just hope the court will soon return our legal ownership," said 70-year-old Nguyen Khoa.

Over the past few days, Mr. Khoa and more than 150 other victims and related individuals have been present at the TP HCM People's Court to follow the trial of Ngo Xuan Truong (50, former director of Dai Hai Investment JSC) for abuse of trust to appropriate property, and Luu Quang Lam (66, former chairman of the board of Dai Hai) for fraud and property appropriation.

Defendants Ngo Xuan Truong (front) and Lam (white shirt, on bail) at the trial. Photo: Binh Nguyen

Defendants Ngo Xuan Truong (front) and Lam (white shirt, on bail) at the trial. Photo: Binh Nguyen

The nearly 58,000 m² Hiep Binh Chanh Residential Area project was assigned to K&N Construction and Investment Consultancy Co., Ltd. (later renamed Dai Hai) in 2001. Two years later, the company partnered with a branch of Song Da Corporation (now ANI JSC) to divide and sell the land plots. Under the agreement, Dai Hai was entitled to 180 plots, and Song Da to 239. These plots were subsequently sold to customers.

Dai Hai was responsible for the land title procedures, but to date, only 164 titles have been issued.

According to the indictment, while serving as director, Ngo Xuan Truong, due to debts exceeding 36 billion VND, mortgaged and transferred 17 land plots worth over 10.7 billion VND (already sold to residents) to various creditors to offset his debts. These plots were then resold and remortgaged multiple times.

Luu Quang Lam is accused of signing seven mortgage and guarantee contracts for six other companies, totaling over 208 billion VND, despite knowing that 115 plots had already been sold to residents. After being discovered, Mr. Lam offered some assets as replacements but still owes Dong A Bank more than 50 billion VND.

At the trial, both defendants admitted to the charges, explaining that due to their debts, they had to "juggle" finances by mortgaging and transferring land already sold to residents.

Nguyen Khoa, one of the victims, attends the trial. Photo: Hai Duyen

Nguyen Khoa, one of the victims, attends the trial. Photo: Hai Duyen

Bringing a stack of documents to court, Nguyen Khoa explained that he purchased a plot of land in the project in 2008, and in 2017, he and his wife built a temporary house to live in and run a small business.

In 2019, he was shocked to discover his house and land were registered under someone else's name and were being offered for sale. He later learned that Ngo Xuan Truong had transferred the plot he had purchased to a creditor to settle a debt. Currently, his land title is being held as collateral at a bank in Vung Tau for 8 billion VND.

"The damage to us is immense. When we bought the land and built the house, we borrowed 2.5 billion VND from the bank, planning to repay the loan once we received the title. But we waited and waited, and the debt has now increased to 7 billion, causing us immense hardship," Mr. Khoa said.

Among the 17 households whose land was sold to others by Ngo Xuan Truong, 49-year-old Vu Nam Bac recounted buying land in 2009 and subsequently building a stable home. It wasn't until 2019 that his family discovered the land had been transferred to another owner.

"We lived there peacefully for many years, but we had no legal documents for the house. From applying for a house number to registering our child for school, everything was difficult. We contacted Dai Hai many times, but they only gave us promises. We never imagined our house and land would be sold to someone else," Mr. Bac expressed his frustration.

Mr. Bac works as a technical support specialist for the military, protecting offshore platforms, spending most of his time at sea and returning home for only one or two months each year. The land dispute weighs heavily on his mind, preventing him from focusing on his work, as his wife and young child are at home alone.

Before the criminal case was initiated, he and several other residents were also drawn into lawsuits arising when the bank accepted their land as collateral. "We need the house documents for administrative procedures, but we don't know when our rightful ownership will be restored," Mr. Bac said.

Victims and related individuals attend the trial. Photo: Hai Duyen

Victims and related individuals attend the trial. Photo: Hai Duyen

Unlike many other residents whose land was directly sold, the house and land of 53-year-old Ho Quyet Chien were used by Luu Quang Lam as collateral for a bank loan to guarantee a loan for another company.

Mr. Chien said he purchased a 200 m² villa plot from Song Da Corporation in 2007. More than ten years later, in 2018, he was unexpectedly summoned to court in a lawsuit between a bank and a business, only then realizing his house and land had been mortgaged without his knowledge.

Previously, he had sent several letters to Dai Hai requesting an explanation for the delay in issuing the land title, only to receive the response that "the project's infrastructure and landscaping were not yet complete." In reality, the overall land title for many residents had been issued since 2007, but the company withheld them and between 2012 and 2013, used them as collateral for loans from various banks and to guarantee loans for other businesses.

"We still live on our own land but are constantly worried. We have the house, but we can't do business or transfer ownership. First, there were civil lawsuits, and now we have to deal with this criminal case, which is exhausting," Mr. Chien said, emphasizing that although the residents are completely justified, "until there's a final court judgment, we can't be at peace."

On 22/8, after more than a day of trial, the procuracy proposed a life sentence for Lam and 16-18 years for Truong.

Regarding civil liability, the procuracy proposed that the defendants be responsible for repaying the bank; that the related contracts and transactions involving the land titles be annulled; and that the bank return the land use right certificates to the residents so they can complete the title issuance procedures.

During the trial, many residents present requested to be recognized as parties with related rights and obligations in the case. The trial continued on August 25th.

Hai Duyen