Extorting property from others to obtain 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 province) on charges of "Extortion" and "Abuse of trust to misappropriate property"

According to the indictment, from June 2016 to August 2016, Nguyen Van Hai committed two acts of abuse of trust to misappropriate property and extortion.

Specifically, on May 11, 2016, Hai rented a self-drive car (worth 120 million VND) from Mr. Tran Phuong N. (Ha Tinh province) for his use. After the contract expired, Hai did not return the car but instead pawned it for 35 million VND to spend.

In addition, Hai also committed a crime against Mr. Cao Xuan B. (born in 1976, residing in Vinh City). Suspecting that Mr. B. had a romantic relationship with his girlfriend, Hai deceived him by suggesting they meet to sign a contract for roller shutter doors.

When they met, Hai got into Mr. B's Nissan Navara, threatened and intimidated him with a knife, and forced him to sit in the passenger seat. Hai drove Mr. B to several locations to clarify whether he had a romantic relationship with his girlfriend, but he was unable to find out.

Because his car broke down, Mr. B called a mechanic to fix it and asked a friend to pick him up and take him back to the company. When his friend arrived, Mr. B borrowed his car to go back to the company.

After fixing the car, Hai drove Mr. B's friend home, then borrowed the car to go to the restroom. However, Hai then drove to Ha Tinh and Quang Binh to take care of personal matters.

On August 12, 2016, while taking his car to a company in Dong Hoi City (Quang Binh province) for repairs, Hai discovered a watch (worth 2 million VND) and an iPad 3 (worth 3 million VND) in the trunk. He took them and pawned them.

On August 18, 2016, due to lack of money and knowing that Mr. B. was trying to recover his car, Hai impersonated someone else and contacted Mr. B., demanding 30 million VND in exchange for revealing the car's hiding place.

Hai also threatened that if Mr. B. didn't give him the money and report him to the police, he would lose his car and his family's lives would be in danger. Fearing for his safety, Mr. B. handed over the money to Hai. Hai was caught red-handed by the police while receiving 30 million dong.

After being detained at the Nghe An Provincial Police Department, 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. He was apprehended on November 15, 2024.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. The defendant confessed to using the money extorted from the victim and the money from pawning the vehicle to gamble. The defendant offered his apologies to the victim and those involved.

The panel of judges noted that in this case, the fact that the defendant committed the crime two or more times constitutes an aggravating circumstance. However, mitigating circumstances such as honest confession, the victim's request for a reduced sentence, and the defendant's medical condition limiting their ability to understand and control their actions should also be considered.

After a comprehensive review of the case, 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 to appropriate property, requiring the defendant to serve a total sentence of 6 years in prison.