Nghe An: Property was mortgaged, tenant accused landlord of appropriation

(Baonghean) - At the end of August 2017, Nghe An Newspaper received a letter of appeal from Ms. Truong Thi Thanh Huong in Nghia Mai commune (Nghia Dan) about her property being appropriated with an estimated amount of nearly 500 million VND.

In the petition, Ms. Huong stated: On December 10, 2014, Ms. Huong and Mr. Nguyen Nhu Thiet and Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh signed a house rental contract to open a coffee shop. Accordingly, Ms. Huong rented the house and land owned by Mr. Thiet and Ms. Hanh in Hamlet 4, Dap Be, Nghia Trung Commune, Nghia Dan District to open a coffee shop and karaoke bar, including a two-room, tiled house, a three-room, tiled house, three built rooms and ancillary works.

The karaoke bar that Mrs. Huong rented from Mrs. Hanh is now being run by someone else as a restaurant. Photo: Phuong Thao

The rental period is 5 years from January 1, 2015 to December 30, 2020. The rental price is 3,500,000 VND/month (first year, payment every 6 months; the following years, payment every year on February 10 every year). The rental contract has been notarized at the People's Committee of Nghia Trung commune.

However, in the second year of renting the house (2016), Ms. Huong did not have enough money to pay Ms. Hanh and her husband, so a conflict arose between the two sides. On September 5, 2016, Ms. Hanh and her husband went to the coffee shop to ask Ms. Huong to stop operating at the shop and pay the full rent (42 million VND).

At this time, Mrs. Huong did not have enough money to pay. After many unsuccessful attempts to collect the debt, Mrs. Hanh and her husband sealed all the assets at Mrs. Huong's shop. These assets were later sold by Mrs. Hanh to someone else.

In the file sent to Nghe An Newspaper, Ms. Huong sent along a list of assets that were misappropriated, worth 491 million VND. Ms. Huong stated that this amount of assets was misappropriated by Ms. Hanh and then deducted from the rent, but in reality, the value of the assets was much larger.

At the same time, Ms. Huong said that Ms. Hanh's act of arbitrarily taking all the equipment that she had purchased for the coffee shop and karaoke bar to sell to others was an intentional appropriation of property. Having completely lost all her property as well as the right to do business, Ms. Huong wrote a petition for help to the press and the authorities.

Ms. Truong Thi Thanh Huong in Nghia Mai commune (Nghia Dan) said that Ms. Hanh appropriated her property. Photo by Phuong Thao.

When the reporter met with Ms. Hanh - the person accused of appropriating property, Ms. Hanh still affirmed that she and her husband did not violate the law, everything was done according to the agreement between the two parties. According to the investigation, due to the ineffective business, by the second year, Ms. Huong did not have enough money to pay Ms. Hanh despite Ms. Hanh's many requests.

On September 23, 2016, Ms. Hanh came to Ms. Huong's shop and asked Ms. Huong to temporarily stop business for 1 month to pay the rent. All assets in 3 karaoke rooms were confiscated by Ms. Hanh, the rooms were closed, sealed and witnessed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (village chief) and Mr. Le Van Luong (vice-village chief), village 4, Nghia Trung commune.

The minutes were signed by both Ms. Huong and Ms. Hanh, in which Ms. Hanh clearly stated, "I let Ms. Huong send back the equipment in 3 karaoke rooms, 30 days from September 6, 2016 to October 6, 2016, pay 42 million VND for the restaurant rent, 15 million VND for the loan (total 57 million VND). If not paid in full, the above assets will belong to Ms. Hanh." As for Ms. Huong, it was stated, "Ms. Hanh is not allowed to use the 3 karaoke rooms."

On the appointed day, Ms. Huong did not pay the rent to Ms. Hanh and did not contact Ms. Hanh, so on November 24, 2016, Ms. Hanh sold the electronic equipment in the two karaoke rooms to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Huong, residing in Hamlet 4, Nghia Trung Commune for 40 million VND. Ms. Hanh sold the electronic equipment in the remaining karaoke room to a man named Tung, residing in Nghia Hoa Commune, Thai Hoa Town for 10 million VND.

Confirmation minutes signed by Ms. Huong and Ms. Hanh on September 23, 2016. Photo: Phuong Thao.

The total amount of money obtained from selling electronic equipment in 3 karaoke rooms was 50 million VND, then Ms. Hanh deducted Ms. Huong's rent for 1 year and the money Ms. Huong owed Ms. Hanh which was 15 million VND. Based on the asset confirmation minutes, signed by both parties, Ms. Hanh's taking of Ms. Huong's assets was agreed upon in advance. Therefore, Ms. Huong's accusation that Ms. Hanh had appropriated the assets is baseless.

It is known that, at the same time as sending the petition to the press agency, Ms. Huong also filed a criminal complaint with the police agency with similar content. Based on the investigation results, the Investigation Police Agency of Nghia Dan District Police determined that this was a civil dispute and instructed Ms. Hanh to submit the petition to the People's Court of Nghia Dan District for resolution.

Captain Tran Van Nga - Head of the General Investigation Team, Nghia Dan District Police said: "When receiving the crime report from Ms. Huong, which included a large amount of money embezzled, the police immediately began to verify and investigate. However, the process of collecting evidence showed that this case did not have any signs of criminality, the two sides had a dispute related to property, so a conclusion was announced and people were instructed to carry out appropriate procedures to ensure their rights and interests."

Phuong Thao