Late tears of a 'braggart'

The trial of defendant Ho Thi Thu Ha (31 years old), residing in Nam Dan town, Nam Dan district, for the crime of “Fraud and appropriation of property” took place on a day of heavy rain. The unseasonable rain cooled down the hot summer days, but could not reduce the tension in the courtroom of Nghe An Provincial People’s Court.
Ha, wearing a light-colored outfit, was brought to court quite early with a calm expression. However, the moment she accidentally saw her ex-husband and two small children standing outside the courtroom hallway, Ha burst into tears.

The time for the trial had come, but the panel of judges decided to adjourn the court so the defendant could calm down. After receiving words of encouragement from her ex-husband and seeing the smiles of her children, Ha calmed down and let the trial begin.
Ha's criminal behavior is clearly shown in the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province: Although unemployed, Ha still "bragged" that he had extensive relationships, knew many people in positions, could run for military service or apply for jobs in state agencies.

Faced with Ha's sweet words, Mrs. Vo Thi S. (residing in Nam Dan town) trusted and asked Ha for "help" many times.

Ho Thi Thu Ha shed tears many times when talking about her children. Photo: Tran Vu

At first, Ha "bragged" to Mrs. S. that she would get her daughter enlisted in the army for 265 million VND, with a deposit of 60 million VND. In early 2016, Mrs. S. brought the deposit money and asked Ha to "help". To gain Mrs. S.'s trust, Ha typed the content herself, got her signature on the Internet, photocopied, and edited the Decision on female soldiers joining the army after school issued by the 4th Military Region Command regarding the sending of Mrs. S.'s daughter to school.

Ha continued to ask Ms. S. to pay a total of 210 million VND to apply for a work visa and a student visa to Australia. Not stopping there, Ha also took on the procedures to go abroad to work, run interviews for Ms. S.'s husband and appropriated 84 million VND. The total amount of money Ha appropriated from Ms. S. was 557 million VND.
In a similar manner, Ha also appropriated 60 million VND from Ms. Van Thi Th. (Ha's neighbor) to secure 2 scholarships to study abroad in Australia for Ms. Th.'s daughter.
In court, the defendant confessed honestly, showing remorse. Defendant Ha admitted that he was not capable of running errands, did not know anyone, and the “this man, that woman” that Ha introduced to the victims were all fake. “Because I needed money to spend, I thought of such a scam.”
In response to the victims’ request to compensate for the entire amount of money they had appropriated, Ha said that she had spent it all on personal expenses. In court, Ha complained: “I am an orphan, growing up not knowing who my relatives are or where they live. I grew up in an orphanage. Currently, I am divorced from my husband, so I do not know who to turn to to pay off my debt. However, I promise that after I am released from prison, I will work and earn money to pay off the debts of the victims.”

The victim’s representative said that from the beginning, the defendant was not honest when he continuously cheated from one time to another. “Ha committed the fraud many times, many people, so it can be affirmed that the defendant intentionally committed the crime. When he learned that the authorities were investigating, he fled. Therefore, I request the court to handle it strictly,” a victim said in court.
The defendant’s family representative only promised to gradually compensate for some of the damage Ha had caused. However, they had to wait a little longer because “the price of rice is currently low, and the family has not sold the rice yet.”
The panel of judges determined that in this case, the victims were also partly at fault for trusting and repeatedly giving money to the defendants. The court analyzed that recruitment to work at companies and state agencies must go through exams and selection according to current regulations; just like wanting to study abroad or export labor, one must prepare documents and follow mandatory regulations. Therefore, the victims' giving money to Ha to "run jobs" is not in accordance with the law. This is a lesson for many others.
Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Ho Thi Thu Ha to 12 years in prison for “fraudulent appropriation of property”. In the civil case, the defendants were required to return the entire amount of money they had appropriated to the victims.
At the end of the trial, the defendant was led to the covered truck. The elderly woman holding two children (6 and 4 years old) tried to run after Ha, but could not catch up. When the truck carrying the defendant left the court yard, she was heartbroken: if she had known her daughter-in-law was committing fraud, the family would have advised her from the beginning. But, it was too late.