On 15/7, Nguyen Trung Hieu, 30, residing in Hai Phong City, and Nguyen Viet Duy, 36, residing in Hanoi, were sentenced by the Hanoi People's Court to 20 and 19 years in prison respectively for robbery.

The indictment stated that both defendants were unemployed and met through Facebook, where they convinced each other to commit robbery. Hieu had previously stayed at a guesthouse on Ngoc Ha street in Hanoi and noticed that the owner, Ms. Mong, often wore a lot of gold jewelry. She lived alone in an alley, and despite the guesthouse frequently having guests, it lacked security cameras. These factors made it their target.

Hieu and Duy at the trial. Photo: Danh Lam

After purchasing two electric batons, Duy drove to pick up Hieu at a bus station in Soc Son commune around 6 PM on 22/4/2025. They agreed to commit the crime the following afternoon.

Around 2 PM the next day, Duy and Hieu arrived at Ms. Mong's guesthouse, rented a room, and waited for an opportune moment. At approximately 7 PM that same day, after other guests had left, the two defendants tricked Ms. Mong into their room. They claimed there was a water problem in the bathroom that needed checking.

As soon as Ms. Mong entered the room, Hieu used an electric baton, pressing it against her back and causing her to fall to the floor. Duy then restrained her, using a blanket from the bed to cover her mouth and prevent her from screaming.

Hieu took all the jewelry from Ms. Mong, including 7 bracelets, one anklet, and two necklaces. He also seized her iPhone 16 Pro Max. Hieu and Duy then used bedsheets to tie the guesthouse owner's hands and feet before fleeing the scene.

The defendants sold the stolen gold at various gold and silver shops across Hanoi, Tuyen Quang, Hung Yen, and Bac Ninh, earning 1.4 billion VND.

Two suspects at the scene of the robbery. Photo: Ngoc Bich

During the trial, Ms. Mong testified that she was terrified and in pain. When the gold was taken, she pleaded with the robbers to leave her phone because it contained personal data, but they still covered her mouth with a bedsheet.

She calculated the stolen property to be 16.5 taels of gold, valued at over 1.9 billion VND.

The court stated that the gold shop owners, after buying the gold, had melted it down and refashioned it, rendering the physical evidence unrecoverable. Consequently, the court ordered the defendants to compensate the victim financially.

Both defendants apologized to Ms. Mong and promised to ask their families to pay the compensation to mitigate the consequences.

*Victim's name has been changed

Hai Thu