Real estate transaction staff in Nghe An 'terrorized' customers for refusing to buy land

On the afternoon of June 11, the Police Department for Administrative Management and Social Order (PC 06, Nghe An Police) is detaining Ho Quynh Tuong (27 years old, Quynh Giang commune, Quynh Luu), and Tran Thi Giang (32 years old, Quang Trung ward, Vinh city), to clarify the act of "Extortion of property".

Tuong and Giang are employees of Viethome Media Company Limited. This company is located at 8 Le Nin Avenue (Vinh City), specializing in real estate consulting, brokerage, and auctions.

Wall at the police station. Photo: Tien Hung

According to Ms. H. (residing in Nghi Duc commune, Vinh city), around the end of May, she went online and saw a post about land for sale by this company so she contacted to see. After going to see the land in person, because she was not satisfied, Ms. H. did not buy it.

A week later, Tran Thi Giang called Ms. H. to ask if she still wanted to buy the land and introduced her to another plot. Ms. H. was then taken by a company employee to see the land and offered a price of 650 million VND.

"After looking at the land, I said it was too expensive and left without promising them anything. When I got home and asked my husband, he said that the same plot of land was being sold at a much cheaper price by another real estate company. Therefore, my husband and I did not buy through Viethome but bought from another trading floor, which had a cheaper price," Ms. H. said.

Since then, Ms. H.'s family has continuously received "mental terrorism" phone calls from a group of people from Viethome Media Company Limited. This group of people repeatedly came to Ms. H.'s house and workplace (at a state agency in Vinh City) to threaten her.

Police took Tran Thi Giang's statement. Photo: Tien Hung

"This group asked me to give 30 million VND. They said it was for advertising, then they said it was for service fees, or some kind of difference. Because I had already gone to see the land but did not buy it, I had to pay. They were very aggressive, saying 'if you don't pay, it won't work'," Ms. H. said, adding that this group even went to each neighbor's house, impersonating the police to spread the news that Ms. H.'s family had many violations, and the police were looking for information and investigating.

After refusing to pay many times because she claimed that she did not use any of the company's services, Ms. H. was reduced to 20 million VND by the real estate staff. On the afternoon of June 11, Giang and Tuong were caught red-handed by the 113 Police when they had just received 15 million VND from Ms. H.

Speaking with Nghe An Newspaper reporter, Colonel Luong The Loc - Head of PC 06 (Nghe An Police), the unit is completing the file to transfer the case to Vinh City Police for investigation according to authority.