6 years in prison for extortionist due to gambling

Extortion of director's property

The extortion case was committed by Nguyen Van Hai (born in 1984, residing in Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district; now Vinh city, Nghe An) nearly ten years ago. Because he suspected that Mr. CXB (Director of a company specializing in distributing and installing rolling doors) had an affair with his wife, on August 5, 2016, Hai called Mr. B. to trick him into coming to sign a contract to make rolling doors.

Before leaving, Hai took a knife, a roll of tape, put on a baseball cap, a mask, and went to the appointed location. When they met, Hai got into Mr. B’s Nissan Navara and told him to go to the Vinh airport area.

When they arrived at the airport, Hai said he did not remember the contractor's house. Then, Hai told Mr. B. to drive to an empty lot and asked him to stop. At this point, Hai immediately pulled out a knife he was carrying and pointed it at Mr. B.'s hip, saying that he was having an affair with his wife.

When Mr. B. said he “didn’t know who my wife was” and asked Hai to explain, the guy acted strangely. Hai gave Mr. B. a roll of tape and asked him to tie his own hands, then forced him to sit in the passenger seat.

Then, Hai got in the driver's seat and opened his phone to show Mr. B. a picture of a woman he said was his wife, who had sent sensitive photos to Mr. B. When Mr. B. assured him that there was no affair, Hai said, "Wait for your wife to confront you." A moment later, Hai told Mr. B. to come to his house to clarify. Out of fear, the director followed Hai's wishes.

Nguyen Van Hai drove Mr. B. to a two-story house in Nghi An commune and said it was his house. Seeing that there was a car in the house, Mr. B. said: "I can't date people like this because I'm a worker and have no money." A while later, Hai used the excuse that his wife was not home and drove Mr. B. to many places to clarify whether he had a relationship with his wife or not, but could not clarify.

During the trip, because the car broke down, Hai cut the tape to untie B. so he could fix the car. However, after a while of struggling but not being able to, B. called a mechanic to fix the car and asked a friend to pick him up and take him back to the company. When the friend arrived, B. borrowed the car to go back to the company first.

After the car was repaired, Hai drove Mr. B's friend back to the company, then borrowed the car to go home for some work. On the way home, Hai received a phone call from someone asking him to settle a debt, so he continued to go to Ha Tinh and Quang Binh to settle personal matters.

On August 12, 2016, when taking the car to a company in Dong Hoi City (Quang Binh) for repair, Hai discovered a watch (worth 2 million VND) in the trunk so he took it. In addition, Hai also took an Ipad tablet and pawned it for 3 million VND.

6 days later, because he had no money to spend and knew that Mr. B. wanted to find his car, Hai pretended to be someone else and contacted Mr. B., demanding that he give him 30 million VND and would show him where the car was hidden. Hai also threatened that if he did not give him the money and report to the police, the car would be lost and the lives of Mr. B. and his family would be in danger.

Fearing being implicated, 3 days later, Mr. B. gave Hai 30 million VND through a taxi driver. While Hai was receiving the money, he was caught red-handed by the police.

In addition to the above crime, the police also clarified that on May 11, 2016, Hai rented a self-driving car (worth 120 million VND) from Mr. Tran Phuong N. (residing in Ha Tinh) for his own use. After the contract expired, Hai did not return the car but pawned it, taking 35 million VND to spend.

Pay the price after being on the run

The People's Court of Nghe An province then brought this case to trial. At the trial, Hai stated that he did not intend to rob Mr. B's car and stated that the reason for pawning Mr. Tran Phuong N's car was to gamble, so the court returned the case for further investigation.

After being detained at Nghe An Provincial Police, Nguyen Van Hai was subjected to compulsory treatment at the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry. On January 16, 2023, Hai escaped from the compulsory treatment facility. After more than a year on the run, he was arrested by the police on November 15, 2024.

Recently, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a trial for defendant Nguyen Van Hai on two charges of extortion and abuse of trust. At the trial, the defendant stated that he committed the act of extortion because he was addicted to gambling.

Hai stated that before committing the crime, he was a sales employee at a milk company with a fairly stable salary. But since getting involved in gambling, he has lost everything from his job to his family. The defendant expressed remorse and apologized to the victim and those involved.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, the fact that the defendant committed the crime two or more times is an aggravating circumstance. However, it is also necessary to consider mitigating circumstances for the defendant, such as the defendant's honest confession, the victim's request for a reduced sentence for the defendant, and the defendant's illness limiting his ability to perceive and control his behavior.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Nguyen Van Hai to 2 years and 6 months in prison for Extortion, and 3 years and 6 months in prison for Abuse of trust and misappropriation of property. The defendant was ordered to serve a total sentence of 6 years in prison.

Being addicted to gambling not only made the defendant lose everything, but also got into trouble with the law. That was the price the defendant had to pay for disregarding the law and appropriating other people's property.