On 19/9, the Hanoi People's Court held an appellate trial for Vu Ngoc Quynh, 24, from Nghe An province, on charges of robbery.

The initial judgment, issued in July by the Hanoi District 4 People's Court, determined that Quynh, unemployed, had planned to steal gold under the guise of a purchase. On 11/2, Quynh saw a post on Nguyen Nghia's Facebook page about selling gold. Quynh messaged Nghia and agreed to buy the gold at 89 million VND per tael.

The next day, they met. Nghia took Quynh to a gold shop in Trung Hoa, Hanoi, to verify the gold's authenticity. The staff confirmed that Nghia's 4.5 taels of gold were genuine.

Nghia handed the gold to Quynh and drove him to a nearby address for the transaction. Upon arrival, Quynh got out of the vehicle. While Nghia was parking his motorbike, Quynh grabbed the gold and fled.

Quynh ran into an alley, discarding the gold as he ran, but was caught minutes later by Nghia and local residents. The recovered gold was valued at over 395 million VND.

The initial court found that Quynh had a prior conviction for fraud, receiving a 12-month sentence from the Cau Giay District People's Court in 2022 and being released on 30/4/2023. Because he committed this crime before his record was cleared, the court applied a heavier sentence due to recidivism.

After the initial trial, Quynh appealed for a reduced sentence, but withdrew his appeal today, accepting the 12-year and six-month prison term.

Hai Thu