On the morning of 16/4, Ho Chi Minh City Police arrested Le Van Hoang, 57, to investigate his alleged fraudulent appropriation of property. The suspect is believed to have built 48 houses on land belonging to another person in what was formerly Binh Duong province, now Tan Khanh ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

The act of Hoang and his accomplices appropriating nearly 6,500 square meters of land to build houses is under continued investigation.

This action follows the Ho Chi Minh City Police's receipt of a recommendation to prosecute the case from the Tan Uyen City People's Court, Binh Duong province (now Area 17 People's Court, Ho Chi Minh City).

Police read the prosecution order for Mr. Hoang. Photo: Thai Ha

According to the investigation, many years ago, Mr. Hoang and Ms. Nguyen Thi Ut, 49, were accused by Mr. Truong Minh Ky, 56, of appropriating a 6,465 square meter plot of land in Tan Khanh ward.

According to Mr. Ky, he was granted a land use rights certificate for this plot by the Tan Uyen District People's Committee in 1999, a fact upheld by administrative first-instance and appellate judgments from the Binh Duong Provincial People's Court and the High-level People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City. However, starting in 2017, Mr. Hoang and Ms. Ut arbitrarily occupied the land, subdivided it, and illegally transferred ownership. Mr. Ky filed a lawsuit.

In 12/2019, the Tan Uyen Town People's Court issued an urgent temporary decision prohibiting changes to the land's status, but construction continued extensively. By 11/2023, the disputed land had become a self-initiated residential area with 48 illegal structures built on agricultural land.

At the first-instance trial on 23/7/2024, the Tan Uyen City People's Court accepted the lawsuit, ordering Mr. Hoang to dismantle the structures and return the land to Mr. Ky. However, Mr. Hoang, along with 71 individuals with related rights and obligations, filed an appeal.

During the appellate hearing, the former Binh Duong Provincial People's Court annulled the first-instance verdict and returned the case file, citing numerous complex issues requiring clarification and indications that Mr. Hoang's actions violated criminal law.

On 28/2, the former Tan Uyen City People's Court issued a written recommendation to the former Binh Duong Provincial Police Criminal Investigation Agency (now Ho Chi Minh City Police) to initiate criminal proceedings against Mr. Hoang and his accomplices. Following the administrative merger of provinces and cities, the Ho Chi Minh City Police took over the case and issued a decision to prosecute last December.

Phuoc Tuan