Local leaders are accused of defrauding residents by promising them overseas employment.

Despite failing to fulfill his commitment, Mr. Thong has been dragging his feet for the past three years in repaying the money that the workers had transferred to him.

Devastated by a scam involving overseas employment.

Many residents of Thuan Yen hamlet, Hoan Long commune, Tan Ky district, have filed a petition requesting accountability from commune officials and demanding the return of money they paid for unsuccessful overseas labor export programs. Thuan Yen hamlet was formerly part of Nghia Hoan commune, which was recently merged with Tan Long commune and renamed Hoan Long commune.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Trang (32 years old), residing in Thuan Yen hamlet, stated that around the beginning of 2022, her family learned that Mr. Ho Minh Thong (at that time the Vice Chairman of the People's Council of Nghia Hoan commune, now the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoan Long commune) was acting as a middleman for illegal immigration.labor export"He arranged for many people in the area to go to South Korea. 'Around April 2022, after successfully sending six workers to South Korea, Mr. Thong even held a lavish party at his house, inviting many guests to promote his image. In the following days, Mr. Thong frequently invited my husband out for meals because he knew my husband wanted to go to South Korea to work,' Ms. Trang recounted."

According to Ms. Trang, Mr. Thong advised her husband to apply for the E7 work visa program in South Korea, offered by a company with an office in Thai Hoa town. Mr. Thong even brought the contract to their home for them to sign.

“According to Mr. Thong’s advice, to participate in the E7 Program, in addition to the initial $15,000, the family had to prepare an extra $1,000 to process the application before being eligible. The total amount to be paid to successfully go to South Korea to work was $16,000. Workers only had to pay the money; they didn’t even need to learn Korean,” Ms. Trang recounted, adding that on May 17, 2022 and June 18, 2022, her family transferred $9,000 to Mr. Thong’s account and $1,000 to the account under the name NGUYEN THI HUE, as requested by Mr. Thong, under the pretext of “processing the application.”

It wasn't just Trang's husband; at the same time, six other families also transferred money to Mr. Thong to arrange for overseas employment in South Korea. The total amount each worker paid in advance was $10,000 USD.

"

"My son was working at a garment factory at the time. He saw Mr. Thong advising him to go to South Korea, so he quit his job and mortgaged his land title to borrow money to pay him. But after waiting for a long time, he still hasn't heard anything, and has been stuck at home for the past three years."

Ms. Ho Thi Loan from Thuan Yen hamlet - one of the petitioners.

According to Ms. Loan, after the 8-month deadline as promised by Mr. Thong, there was still no news. She and six other families called him repeatedly, but Mr. Thong gave evasive answers. Sometimes he cited the company being under inspection, other times he claimed to be busy. In mid-January 2023, after many phone calls questioning the situation, Mr. Thong invited the seven families to a meeting and admitted that the company could not send workers to South Korea as agreed, and asked for more time to resolve the issue.

By early April 2023, Mr. Thong and the company representative offered to pay the families 100 million VND upfront, promising to pay the remaining amount, including principal and interest, a year later. However, by the agreed deadline, the company and Mr. Thong had still not fully repaid the money the people had paid.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Trang stated that, to date, after nearly three years and dozens of attempts to recover their money, she and Ms. Loan, due to their "resolute filing of complaints," have received $9,000 from the company. The remaining $1,000 has been transferred to an account designated by Mr. Thong, and the company and Mr. Thong deny any responsibility. As for the other five workers, each still owes 75 million VND that they have yet to recover.

Illegal labor

According to the reporter's investigation, Mr. Thong had previously received applications through this company to send six workers to South Korea on E7 visas. However, just a few months after starting work in South Korea, two workers from Hoan Long commune were arrested and deported back to Vietnam because their documents and E7 licenses were fake. The remaining four, seeing this, managed to escape and live illegally as undocumented workers.

"

“As ordinary citizens, we trusted the commune leaders. When we received the notification to pay the fee, we followed Mr. Ho Minh Thong's instructions. He told us who to transfer the money to and which account to use, and we did as he instructed. Later, we learned that the person who advised us lacked qualifications and professional consulting skills. The company did not have the authority or license to send workers to participate in the E7 visa program.”

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Trang (32 years old, residing in Thuan Yen hamlet)

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Ho Minh Thong, Vice Chairman of the Hoan Long Commune People's Committee, admitted that he received money from seven workers to send them abroad for labor export under the E7 visa category through a company in Thai Hoa town.

According to Mr. Thong, since 2022, the former Nghia Hoan commune has been working with this company to sign a cooperation agreement for career counseling and recruitment for study abroad and labor export programs.

"

"Because I frequently connect the commune and the company, I'm more familiar with the company's side. Whether subjectively or objectively, we only want to promote economic development among the people; we have no intention of profiting or defrauding them of their assets."

Mr. Ho Minh Thong – Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoan Long Commune

Mr. Thong stated that he did not know the reason why the company, after agreeing to the terms and receiving the money, failed to send workers to South Korea. Regarding the question of whether the company lacked the authority and license to send workers to South Korea under the E7 visa category, Mr. Thong said he was not aware of the details. “Previously, the commune had signed a cooperation agreement with the company. They must have had guarantees before signing,” Mr. Thong said, adding that he did not act for personal gain and had urged the company to return the money he had received from the workers and then submitted to the company. As for the $1,000 that the workers claimed to have transferred to an account under the name NGUYEN THI HUE at his request, Mr. Thong stated, “I am not involved and therefore have no responsibility to return it.”

Meanwhile, the head of the labor export company stated that, regarding the two cases of Ms. Trang's family and Ms. Loan's family, the company recently fully refunded the 9,000 USD it had received from Mr. Thong. Regarding the remaining 1,000 USD, he said the company was not involved. The company director also refused to answer when asked why, after receiving the money and making agreements, they failed to send the workers to South Korea, and why five other workers only received 7,000 USD as a refund from the company.

Mr. Nguyen Van Sam, Chairman of the Hoan Long Commune People's Committee, said that after receiving the petitions from the residents, the Commune's Citizen Reception Council invited the two families who submitted the petitions and Mr. Ho Minh Thong to resolve the issue. There, Mr. Thong admitted to receiving money from seven families to arrange overseas employment under the E7 visa program, but the process was unsuccessful. To date, he has not fully reimbursed the money paid by the residents.

Regarding the $1,000 that Mr. Thong denies being involved with, Mr. Nguyen Van Sam stated that he has requested Mr. Thong and his family to provide additional documents and evidence, as well as further analysis and explanation to clarify the matter..

During the meeting, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kieu Trang and Ms. Ho Thi Loan affirmed that Mr. Ho Minh Thong had provided Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue's bank account number and instructed the family to transfer money to that account. Ms. Trang provided the Commune People's Committee with 3 images and an 11-second video clip.In the video, a stack of button-bound envelopes can be seen on the table, with the account name Nguyen Thi Hue clearly written on the outside.), 2 text messages exchanged with Mr. Ho Minh Thong regarding the money transfer (but the message didn't specify who the money was for and didn't mention transferring $1,000.Mr. Thong, however, still maintains that this information is untrue and stated that he never advised or requested Ms. Trang and Ms. Loan's family to deposit $1,000 into Nguyen Thi Hue's account, nor did he directly receive that money to deposit on their behalf to process their application.

"

"The two sides have not yet reached an agreement on issues such as petitions and complaints, and the supporting documents are unclear, vague, difficult to verify, and beyond the authority of the Commune People's Committee. The Commune People's Committee will compile and report to the Chairman of the District People's Committee for research and consideration, and request the competent authorities to resolve the matter in accordance with the law; at the same time, we request that both sides provide further supporting documents to supplement the case."

Mr. Nguyen Van Sam - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoan Long Commune

Mr. Phan Van Giap, Chairman of the Tan Ky District People's Committee, said that the district had also received the information after residents submitted their petitions.

"Currently, we are awaiting a report from the Hoan Long Commune People's Committee because the authority to handle the complaint rests with the commune. After receiving the report, we will direct the relevant agencies to clarify the matter," Mr. Giap said.