Extortion of other people's property to get money to gamble
In a short period of time, Nguyen Van Hai committed the acts of abuse of trust, appropriation of property and extortion twice. Hai confessed to using the above money for gambling.
On April 28, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of defendant Nguyen Van Hai (41 years old), residing in Nghi Phong commune, Nghi Loc district (now Vinh city, Nghe An) for the crimes of "Extortion of property" and "Abuse of trust to appropriate property".
The indictment shows that from June 2016 to August 2016, Nguyen Van Hai twice committed acts of abuse of trust to appropriate property and extortion.
Specifically, on May 11, 2016, Hai rented a self-driving car (worth 120 million VND) from Mr. Tran Phuong N. (Ha Tinh) for his own use. After the contract expired, Hai did not return the car but instead pawned it, taking 35 million VND to spend.
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In addition, Hai also committed a crime against Mr. Cao Xuan B. (born in 1976, residing in Vinh City). Because he suspected Mr. B. of having a relationship with his girlfriend, Hai tricked him into wanting to meet him to sign a contract to make rolling doors.
When they met, Hai got into Mr. B's Nissan Navara, threatened him with a knife, restrained him, and asked him to sit in the passenger seat. Hai drove Mr. B to many locations to clarify whether he had a relationship with his girlfriend or not, but was unable to do so.
Because his car broke down, Mr. B. called a mechanic to fix it and asked a friend to pick him up and take him to work. When his friend arrived, Mr. B. borrowed a car to take him to work.
After fixing the car, Hai drove Mr. B's friend home, then borrowed the car to go to the restroom. But then, Hai drove to Ha Tinh and Quang Binh to take care of personal matters.
On August 12, 2016, when taking the car to a company in Dong Hoi City (Quang Binh) for repair, he discovered a watch (worth 2 million VND) and an Ipad3 (3 million VND) in the trunk. Hai took them and pawned them.
On August 18, 2016, 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 the money and report to the police, he would lose his motorbike and the lives of Mr. B and his family would be in danger. Out of fear, Mr. B handed over the money to Hai. While Hai was receiving the 30 million VND, he was caught red-handed by the police.
After being detained at Nghe An Provincial Police, Nguyen Van Hai was subjected to compulsory medical treatment at the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry. On January 16, 2023, Hai escaped from the compulsory medical treatment facility. On November 15, 2024, this subject was arrested.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to committing the crime as charged in the indictment. The defendant stated that he had taken the money from the victim’s property and the money from the car mortgage to gamble. The defendant 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, 3 years and 6 months in prison for Abuse of trust to appropriate property, forcing the defendant to serve a total sentence of 6 years in prison.
