Female reporter caught red-handed receiving 280 million VND from a business

Ms. Pham Le Hoang Uyen, a reporter for Career Guidance and Integration magazine, is said to have demanded 700 million VND from two real estate companies to "remove the article".

Ms. Pham Le Hoang Uyen at the investigation agency. Photo: Provided by the police.

On the morning of August 7, Can Tho City Police said that last night, Ms. Pham Le Hoang Uyen (41 years old, reporter for Career Guidance and Integration magazine) was caught red-handed while receiving 280 million VND from two real estate businesses at a coffee shop in Ninh Kieu district.

According to initial investigation, from July 31 to August 4, the Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper published 3 articles about a tourism real estate project worth thousands of billions of VND in Hau Giang.

After the articles were published, Ms. Uyen informed the director of the relevant enterprise that if they wanted to remove the three articles, they would have to pay 700 million VND. If they were slow, the newspaper would continue to publish another article, at which point the price for removing the article would be 1 billion VND.

When the price was agreed upon, Uyen went from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho to receive the money and was caught red-handed. The seized evidence was 280 million VND, 3 mobile phones and related documents.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quyet - Editor-in-Chief of Career Guidance and Integration magazine - said that Ms. Pham Le Hoang Uyen has been working as an editorial staff at the Ho Chi Minh City office for about 3 months now.

Regarding the arrest of his reporter for blackmailing a business, Mr. Quyet said: "This is an extremely regrettable incident, violating the law and contrary to the magazine's policies, principles and purposes. We will coordinate well with the investigation agency to clarify the case."

Ms. Le Thi Ai My - Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper - affirmed that Ms. Uyen is not a collaborator, nor is she related to the newspaper's recent series of articles about the above project.

Can Tho City Police are expanding the investigation of the case./.

According to VNE