Using plain water advertised as 'chemical to make iron brittle' to defraud a trader of 200 million
Using plain water for advertising, Vang Chung San and Lo Van Chung swindled a Chinese businessman out of more than 200 million VND.
Lai Chau Provincial Police confirmed on the evening of March 9 that the Investigation Police Agency had detained Vang Chung San (39 years old, from Lao Cai) and Lo Van Chung (44 years old, from Dien Bien) for their actions.fraud and appropriation of property.

On March 5, Mr. Tran Kim Dong (61 years old, Chinese nationality) went to Ma Lu Thang border gate, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province to receive a bottle of “iron embrittlement chemical”. The chemical bottle was advertised as having the ability to turn solid metal into pieces in a split second.
Before that, Mr. Dong watched a livestream on WeChat and saw San doing a fake experiment. In the video, San dropped a few drops of solution on an iron nail, and in a short time, the sturdy nail was easily broken.

Mr. Dong then spent 60,000 yuan (about 210 million VND) to own the above technology. However, when receiving the goods and checking carefully, Mr. Dong discovered that the chemical bottle he bought was just a normal liquid. Mr. Dong quickly reported the incident to the police.
The Criminal Police Department, Lai Chau Provincial Police presided over and coordinated with Working Group No. 4 in Phong Tho district and the Traffic Police Department to develop a plan to verify and arrest the subject.
At 7:30 p.m. on March 5, at Lai Ha Bridge, Le Loi Commune, Nam Nhun District, Lai Chau, the task force stopped the taxi carrying Vang Chung San. Upon inspection, the police discovered a handbag containing 6 bundles of money, totaling 60,000 Yuan.

Expanding the case, the police continued to arrest Lo Van Chung, San's accomplice. At the investigation agency, Vang Chung San confessed: "I know Chinese so I got to know a Chinese person through WeChat. He told me to film a video advertising a chemical that makes metal brittle to sell to customers in China. The chemical bottle was actually just water."
Lo Van Chung said: “At first, San sent a photo of the chemical bottle via WeChat and asked me to order it. I called an acquaintance in Laos to help me order it. When the goods arrived, I contacted San to deliver it to him. San told me that if he could swindle the above amount of money, after deducting the costs, he would give me half.”
Investigators determined that both subjects had planned in advance, ordered fake plastic bottles, and staged a video to defraud the victims.