14 Tan Son Nhat Airport terrorists ask for reduced sentence

On June 4, the High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City considered the petition for a reduced sentence of Dang Hoang Thien (25 years old) and Nguyen Duc Sinh (33 years old, from Quang Ngai) for the crime ofTerrorism against the people's government.

In connection with the case, Thien's 12 accomplices also asked for reduced sentences or pleaded not guilty. Only Le Thi Thu Phuong (22 years old, Thien's girlfriend) accepted a suspended sentence of one year and six months in prison for the crime ofFailure to report a crime.

Wearing an orange T-shirt and thick glasses, Thien looked fatter than the first instance trial. In a clear voice, the young man admitted to both the explosions at Tan Son Nhat airport and the vehicle storage facility in Dong Nai. However, he said his actions only fell under Clause 3, Article 84 of the 1999 Penal Code, with a penalty of 2-7 years.prison, not 16 years as applied by the court of first instance.

The first instance verdict determined that Dao Minh Quan was the leader of an anti-government organization in Vietnam and was exiled abroad. Since 2016, he has beenthrough social networkscolluded with Pham Lisa to attract many people at home and abroad to form an "action group" to carry out terrorist attacks with the policy of "kill all, burn all, destroy all".

Terrorist plan at Tan Son Nhat airport

After following Pham Lisa’s Facebook for a while, Thien joined her organization. Around mid-April, Thien was assigned to research and purchase materials to make petrol bombs that could be detonated by remote control, then together with his accomplices planned to cause a fire or explosion at Tan Son Nhat airport on the occasion of April 30. Pham Lisa transferred nearly 12 million VND to him through his girlfriend’s account to buy the materials.

Pham Lisa also sent Ngo Thuy Tuong Vy, Truong Tan Phat, and Nguyen Thi Chung to participate. Thien prepared two petrol bombs disguised in cardboard boxes to explode at the airport on the evening of April 22. According to the plan, Thien placed one on the third floor of the parking garage, and Vy placed the other at column 9 of the international terminal.

At 6 p.m. that day, Thien transported two cardboard boxes to Hoang Van Thu Park (near the airport) and gave Vy and Phat one, along with instructions on how to detonate it. However, fearing serious consequences, Phat removed the batteries from the remote control so the bomb would not explode. The two then placed the cardboard box in the planned location. The bomb was discovered by passengers at the international terminal and reported to aviation security for disposal.

At the same time, Thien brought the remaining petrol bomb to the third floor of the parking garage and then went down to the ground floor to detonate it. Due to the long distance, the signal could not be transmitted and the bomb did not explode.

Informed by Phat that the bomb at the international terminal was not working, Thien transferred the bomb from the parking lot to Vy to replace it. The bomb exploded, causing passengers to panic and run away. Airport security sealed off the scene to prevent further damage.

Burning down the warehouse of seized vehicles in Dong Nai

Before carrying out the explosion at Tan Son Nhat, in early April, Sinh and Thien made three jars of gas bombs, each jar containing four mini gas cylinders. The duo and five accomplices threw them into the temporary storage of traffic violation vehicles of the Bien Hoa City Police, Dong Nai. The incident completely destroyed the warehouse, damaged 320 vehicles, and caused a total loss of nearly 1.3 billion VND.

Knowing that Thien participated in two explosions, Le Thi Thu Phuong (22 years old, Thien's girlfriend) did not report it to the authorities.

Authorities also determined that Pham Lisa had formed many other groups to prepare for terrorist attacks in many places across the country. Among them, Sinh and Le Hung Cuong went to Cambodia to buy guns and bullets to make weapons. Another group led by Bui Cong Thanh was assigned to develop forces, make smoke bombs and petrol bombs to explode the houses of some leaders, and organize protests at Notre Dame Cathedral.

Quan and Pham Lisa are abroad so the authorities will handle the arrest later.

Late last year, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Thien to 16 years in prison, Sinh to 10 years in prison, and the remaining 13 accomplices to 5-14 years. The defendants will also be placed under house arrest for 3-5 years in their localities after completing their prison terms.

The appeal hearing is expected to last two days.