The heartache of a poor mother who borrowed money to pay off her daughter's debt

Female medical staff's "trial-fixing" scam

As the second child in a family of two children, despite her poor family background, Vo Thi Hanh (36 years old, residing in Nam Dan town, Nam Dan district) was always given the opportunity to study by her parents. After graduating from university, Hanh applied for a job as a school health worker at a school in Nam Dan district.

Although not this or that person, at least finding a stable job like Hanh is the wish of many people. However, the female school health worker is not satisfied with the salary she receives each month. To have more money, Hanh gave false information to trick people into "running cases" and getting jobs, thereby embezzling large sums of money.

According to the indictment, around the end of 2022, Hanh learned that Ms. Lo Thi Minh Nhan - Vice President of the Ky Son District Red Cross Society and Lo Thi Soa - Vice President of the Ta Ca Commune Red Cross Society (Ky Son District) were being investigated in relation to receiving and coordinating relief money for Ky Son people after the flash floods, so she sought to approach them. Hanh provided false information, claiming that she could get a "clear sentence", then transferred jobs to these two people.

Fearing legal trouble, these two officials gave Hanh money to "fix the case". Of which, Ms. Nhan gave Hanh 240 million VND, 2 pigs; Ms. Soa gave Hanh 210 million VND, 3 kg of beef, 3 yen of upland sticky rice. However, after receiving the money, Hanh did not fulfill her commitment and spent it all for personal use. The two female Red Cross officials were later prosecuted and tried for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties" at a trial held in mid-September 2023. Of which, defendant Nhan was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence, defendant Soa was sentenced to 12 months in prison with a suspended sentence.

In addition to the act of “fixing a case”, the investigation agency also determined that Hanh had cheated her way into a job to appropriate money. Hanh “boasted” that she had a close relationship with the leader of the Song Lam water supply company, so she was able to apply for an accounting job for a woman in Vinh city, at a cost of 50 million VND. Trusting her, the woman’s husband repeatedly transferred 30 million VND to Hanh to help her with the job.

After a long wait, the victim still had not received a notice to go to work when she heard that Hanh had been arrested. Therefore, this person filed a complaint with the police. The investigation agency determined that from July 2022 to January 2023, Vo Thi Hanh had defrauded and appropriated nearly 490 million VND from the victims.

Mother's feelingswhen children break the law

Answering the questions of the jury, Hanh admitted to the fraud. The female defendant confessed that the motive for the crime was to take other people's money to pay off personal debts. Hanh did not elaborate on the loans but said that at that time it was very difficult. "The defendant simply thought of accepting to help people with work and cases. If I could not do as promised, I would return the money and it would be okay," Hanh told the court.

After the incident was exposed, the defendant asked her parents to pay the debt on behalf of the victims. At the trial, the female defendant shed tears many times, expressing remorse for her crime. The defendant presented her difficult circumstances and young children to ask the court to consider reducing her sentence.

Sitting quietly listening to her daughter answer the court's questions, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Th. (66 years old) shed tears many times. With gray hair, a haggard face, and dark skin, she timidly stood up when the court asked her about the money she had paid for her daughter's debt. The mother explained that she was completely unaware of her daughter's fraudulent behavior until she saw someone come to ask for the debt.

With the hope that their daughter would soon have a chance to return home, despite their difficult circumstances, their grandparents being old and sick, the family still borrowed money to pay off Hanh’s debt. “What do you think about the money you paid for your daughter, do you want to ask the defendant to pay it back to you?”, the judge asked.

Hearing that, she shook her head and said "no" and explained that "the child is foolish, the mother is responsible", the family wanted to pay the debt on behalf of the child, asking the court to consider reducing the sentence for the defendant.

Then the mother explained the family's difficult situation. After Hanh was arrested, her grandchild had to be taken care of by her grandparents. Because she had a congenital heart disease, her health was poor, making care even more difficult. Sitting a few rows away, Hanh's father just sighed quietly. The man who had spent a part of his life defending the country seemed tired of his daughter breaking the law at her old age.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant had aggravating circumstances, such as committing the crime two or more times. However, it is also necessary to consider some mitigating circumstances for the defendant, such as honestly confessing, repenting, and influencing the family to compensate the victim for damages. During her work, the defendant had many outstanding achievements: she was a grassroots emulation fighter, received many certificates of merit, certificates of merit for scientific initiatives at the district and provincial levels, actively participated in supporting movements for the poor in the locality and neighboring communes, her father was a person with revolutionary contributions... Considering the case in its entirety, the court sentenced Vo Thi Hanh to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

Job scams and “case-fixing” are no longer new problems, but many people still fall into the trap of scammers. Partly because of the need for jobs for workers, partly because of the sophisticated tricks of the subjects. Therefore, people need to be more vigilant to avoid losing both money and health.