7 'knots' that must be untied in the case of Miss Phuong Nga

In addition to investigating the contradictory details in the accusation against Phuong Nga, the panel of judges recommended clarifying signs of wrongdoing by related officials.

Immediately after allowing Truong Ho Phuong Nga (Miss Vietnam in Russia 2007) and Nguyen Duc Thuy Dung to be released on bail pending investigation, on the afternoon of June 29, the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City returned the case file to the same level Procuracy for further investigation.

The panel of judges assessed the newly emerged evidence as important, but the court could not add it. Therefore, the investigation agency needs to review and clarify the statements of the defendants, witnesses and victims, which still have many contradictions.

Incriminating evidence comes after tycoon's complaint

Phuong Nga was accused of fraud, creating fake documents and hiring someone to own the house on Nguyen Trai Street, luring Mr. My to buy it for 16.5 billion VND and then appropriating it. However, Nga and Dung said that the tycoon gave Nga that money to fulfill a love agreement, not to buy or sell the house.

Nga said the documents related to the house were made by Ms. Nguyen Mai Phuong, or she forged them herself under her instructions to legitimize the money she received from Mr. My. But they were made after he filed a complaint against her for fraud - meaning there was no sale.

Nga was released on bail. Photo: Quynh Tran.

Mr. My affirmed that he had no romantic relationship with the beauty queen, and that he bought the house on Nguyen Trai Street because he believed in the 2013 house purchase agreement with Nga. The jury repeatedly questioned him about the location, structure, and characteristics of the house... Mr. My said that about 3 days before buying, he went to see the house, went inside, but did not contact anyone.

He took the elevator but it is not clear which floor he went to, the elevator is at the back of the hotel. Before that, in response to Nga's lawyer, Mr. My said he just stood outside and watched.

"We must verify the facts and compare these statements," the panel of judges stated, one of the issues the investigation agency must supplement.

Find 'hidden person' to make fake evidence

According to the People's Court, from the results of the additional investigation, if it is proven that the nature of the 16.5 billion VND that Mr. My transferred to Nga was not a house sale, it is necessary to clarify who created the fake documents and evidence for handling.

Regarding the accusation that Russia hired gangsters to threaten Mr. My, and Russia accused him of hiring people to threaten him, the court requested to take statements from those involved to clarify.

Handling of violations of monogamy

The lawyer provided the court with documents of 17 times Nga and Mr. My left the country. Nga stated that they both slept in the same hotel room during their trips abroad, but Mr. My denied this.

When the relationship between Nga and Mr. My was clarified, the panel requested to handle the parties' violations of the marriage regime according to regulations.

Find the owner of the 'love contract' email

Nga testified that she had received many emails about the love agreement sent by Mr. My, as well as documents related to the house sale case. The court requested the authorities to clarify the email addresses of Nga and Mr. My. Allow Nga to access the emails to determine who these contents belong to and when they were created.

According to the court, this is evidence to exonerate Nga, saved on the computer.

Investigating the 'collusion'

Lu Minh Nghia, Dung and Nga's mother testified that Ms. Nguyen Mai Phuong introduced a prison officer named Nghia to help Dung get her statement out. Witness Nghia provided the officer's phone number and the nylon letters Dung sent from the prison. Two defendants in the same cell with Dung also witnessed her sending letters through the ventilation hole in her cell.

The court requested the investigation agency to verify and identify whether the handwriting in the letter is Dung's or not, and to clarify whether or not this collusion occurred.

Regarding the statements of Russia and the US, which are similar in both content and form (periods and commas), the panel of judges requested "clarification of whether or not there was an act of infringement on judicial activities".

Mr. Cao Toan My after the trial on the afternoon of June 29. Photo: Quynh Tran.

The tycoon declared that he did not agree on the money transfers.

During the investigation, Mr. My gave conflicting statements about the amount of 16.5 billion VND, the complaint, the house purchase agreement... As for witness Mai Phuong, she denied the statements of Nga and Dung that she was the one who staged the house purchase scenario.

Therefore, the panel of judges recommended that the investigation agency access Nga's computer and request an expert to determine the time of creation of the house sale documents, payment appointment papers, etc. At the same time, clarify who Mr. My received the agreements from.

The role of Nguyen Duc Thuy Dung in the case

Dung is a close friend of Nga - accused of discussing and helping the beauty queen receive money from Mr. My. However, when questioned in court, Nga affirmed that Dung had absolutely no idea that she and Ms. Nguyen Mai Phuong had legalized the money Mr. My gave her.

Regarding the amount of more than 2 billion VND that the investigation agency collected in Dung's account, which was later determined to be the money "Mr. My bought a house" and then paid to him, Dung affirmed that it was money from her cosmetics business. At the time of her arrest, the police seized many books related to her business, so it was possible to prove that what she said was true.

The panel of judges believes that these details are contrary to the case file. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct further investigation to clarify how Dung participated in the case, and his subjective consciousness when receiving money from Mr. My transferred to Nga (as alleged) to prove whether or not he was an accomplice.

According to VNE