"Young entrepreneurs" rent self-driving cars and then pawn them.
(Baonghean.vn) - In a short period of time, Dang Thai Phi successively defrauded four large self-drive car rental centers in Vinh City, pawning them to get money for personal use.
On January 16, 2019, the People's Court of Nghe An province held the first-instance trial of Dang Thai Phi (born in 1989, residing in Phong Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district) on the charge of "Fraudulent appropriation of property".
According to the indictment, Dang Thai Phi carried out four consecutive robberies. During the period of committing the crimes, Phi stole four cars, with a total value of 1.42 billion VND.
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| Defendant Dang Thai Phi at the trial. Photo: Quynh An. |
On July 20, 2017, posing as a successful businessman, Dang Thai Phi went to Pham Tuan Hiep's pawn shop (Hung Dung Ward, Vinh City) to rent a self-drive Hyundai car with license plate 37A - 257.76 for his business. However, while driving in Ha Tinh province, the car was involved in an accident. Phi then took the car to a repair shop as requested by Mr. Hiep.
After the repairs were completed, Phi borrowed another vehicle, and Hiep agreed. Upon receiving the vehicle, Phi immediately contacted Mr. Hoang Tuan Dung (Hung Nguyen, Nghe An) to pawn it for 70 million VND, using the money for personal expenses.
Seeing that the first scam was successful, on December 4, 2017, also posing as a businessman, Dang Thai Phi went alone to Uy Tam Trading and Service Company Limited (No. 196, Nguyen Si Sach Street) and rented another Kia Morning car with license plate 37A - 023.29, also under the same pretext of transportation.
On January 8, 2018, Phi brought the car to Nguyen Phuc Thang's service shop (Hung Dung, Vinh City) to pawn it, claiming he needed money urgently for his business. He received 190 million VND as collateral.
While still borrowing the old car, on December 20, 2017, Dang Thai Phi borrowed another car from Uy Tam Company, requesting a nice car for a friend traveling from Saigon for work, and deposited 10 million VND as a guarantee of trust. The company then lent Phi the ELANTRA car with license plate 37A - 341.68.
Immediately after borrowing the money, Phi contacted Nguyen Phuc Thang (Hung Dung, Vinh City) and used the excuse that his wife's car had been mortgaged to get money for his business. Thang agreed and paid 180 million VND.
Feeling he didn't have enough money, on January 11, 2018, Dang Thai Phi deceived his friend Nguyen Huu P. (Phong Thinh commune, Thanh Chuong district) by claiming he needed a car for work but lacked the necessary documents to rent one. He asked P. to go to Uy Tam company to rent one, and gave P. 4 million dong.
Upon arrival, Phi simply stood outside while Mr. P. went in to rent a Kia Morning with license plate 37A-341.13. At 4 PM the same day, Dang Thai Phi went to the pawn shop owned by Mr. Nguyen Khac Long (Ha Huy Tap Ward, Vinh City) and pawned the car for 55 million VND, which he used for personal expenses.
Defendant Dang Thai Phi has been held in temporary detention at the Nghe An Provincial Police Detention Center since August 2, 2018.
During the trial, only the defendant Dang Thai Phi's mother was present from his side of the family. She sat far away, watching her son and weeping silently. She had been caring for the defendant's child, who had been hospitalized for several months.
In his final statement, Dang Thai Phi apologized to the families of the victims and hoped the court would show leniency so that he could be released early to earn an honest living to atone for his wrongdoings.
The court ruled that the defendant's actions were dangerous to society and required strict punishment under the law. The court sentenced the defendant to 12 years in prison for fraud and misappropriation of property. In addition, the defendant was ordered to fulfill his civil compensation obligations to the victims, totaling 612 million VND.
