On 12/8, Quach Ken Chee, 48, and Dinh Christina Phuong Thi, 30, a Vietnamese-American woman, along with 5 others, stood trial at the Ho Chi Minh City Family and Juvenile Court for murder.

Two of the defendants were minors at the time of the incident.

Defendants Quach Ken Chee (left), Dinh Christina Phuong Thi (white shirt), and accomplices at the court. Photo: Binh Nguyen

According to the indictment, Chee, Thi, and the victim, Thinh, had known each other since 2021. Because Thinh had repeatedly borrowed money and failed to repay it, Chee asked Thi in mid-2023 to find someone to assault him as a warning.

Thi agreed and used Facebook to hire a group of unidentified individuals to assault Thinh for 10.5 million VND. Because the victim only suffered minor injuries, Chee demanded Thi hire someone to make him "bleed" and send him a video. This time, Chee promised to pay her 15 million VND.

Thi told her boyfriend, Nguyen Van Dung, who was 10 years younger, about this, and he agreed to help. Dung bought 3 knives and recruited Nguyen Thanh Thinh, Bui Duc Tin, and Dong Quoc Khanh to participate. However, while en route, the group encountered a police patrol, discarded their weapons, and abandoned the plan.

Chee had already transferred 10 million VND to Thi and her accomplices to share. The group continued to plan, seeking another opportunity to attack Thinh.

After several failed attempts to ambush Thinh at the bar where he worked, on the afternoon of 3/8/2023, Dung pretended to call Thinh to check on him and arranged a meeting at the Ly Thai To roundabout (former District 3). Dung then shared the location with his accomplices so they could follow Thinh.

Around 5:45 PM, as Thinh was riding his motorbike on Ton That Thuyet Street (District 4), Nguyen Thanh Thinh forced him off the road and stabbed him twice in the chest and shoulder. Khanh, following behind, recorded the entire incident and sent the video to Thi.

Severely injured, Thinh clutched his chest and fled to District 7, where he collapsed. Passersby took him to the hospital, but he later died.

Thi then sent the video to Chee to demand the 15 million VND payment. Upon learning of Thinh's death, she asked Chee for more money so the group could escape to Cambodia. However, he refused, forcing her to borrow 50 million VND. Before they could escape, the police arrested them.

The prosecuting authority identified Chee as the mastermind and leader. Although he didn't intend to cause death, he accepted the possibility, thus committing murder. The other defendants were prosecuted for their roles as perpetrators and accomplices.

At the court on Tuesday, after questioning the defendants about their backgrounds, the judge decided to return the case file for further investigation because one defendant claimed dual Vietnamese and Canadian citizenship, which the investigators had not clarified.

Binh Nguyen