Investigation underway into individuals posing as journalists to extort money by promising to help people avoid prosecution.

Three members of one family were involved in a "intentional infliction of injury" case. Ms. C sought help, and some individuals claiming to be journalists allegedly attempted to "scam" her into paying money to drop the case.

"Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc incites parishioners."

According to information from the Criminal Investigation Department of Phu Nhuan District Police, Ho Chi Minh City, on the night of May 23rd, they coordinated with the Police of Ward 8 to temporarily detain and question Mr. VNT - the head of a newspaper's representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. The police are currently continuing to summon other relevant individuals to assist in the investigation and clarify this case, which shows signs of "fraud".

Illustrative image.

According to initial information, Mrs. C's family, consisting of three members: her husband and two siblings, were involved in a chase that took people from an entertainment venue all the way to a hospital in Binh Tan District in early June 2016. It is known that all three members of Mrs. C's family played key roles in the case.

When her family members were detained for investigation, Ms. C was distraught and didn't know what to do, so she sought advice from many people. Through referrals and "brokers," Ms. C found Mr. T's office on Hoang Van Thu Street, Ward 8, Phu Nhuan District.

According to Ms. C, Mr. T introduced himself at this time as a journalist, the head of the Ho Chi Minh City representative office of newspaper B.

Initially, Mr. T instructed Ms. C to prepare the necessary documents, demanding a fee of 100 million VND and promising to rescue her family members from the Bình Tân District Police detention center within a month, after which further arrangements would be made. Believing him, Ms. C handed over the money as agreed.

However, Ms. C's three family members were not "rescued." Ms. C was anxious and repeatedly contacted Mr. T, inquiring about the situation, but Mr. T gave evasive promises, sometimes even dismissing the matter evasively. Mr. T even assured Ms. C that her family members would receive a suspended sentence or a prison term equal to their detention period, and would be released at the court.

Ms. C was looking forward to it. However, recently, the People's Court of Binh Tan District held a first-instance trial of the case with 15 defendants involved, including Ms. C's husband and two siblings, who were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 to 8 years and 6 months for the crime of "intentionally causing injury".

Ms. T later contacted journalist T, but he gave evasive answers, sometimes hanging up abruptly or turning off his mobile phone.

Suspecting she had been scammed, Ms. C proactively arranged a meeting with Mr. T through an intermediary, proposing to "fix" the case for three of her family members in the upcoming appeal trial. After hearing Ms. C's "request," Mr. T agreed to meet and quoted a price of 600 million VND. Ms. C pretended to agree, requesting Mr. T to write a receipt acknowledging receipt of the previous 100 million VND, and simultaneously committing to paying the remaining 500 million VND as agreed.

Ms. C proactively reported the entire incident to the police.

On the afternoon of March 25th, Ms. C arranged another meeting with Mr. T to discuss "bribing" officials to drop the case for three family members. Afterward, police detectives appeared and took Mr. T and Ms. C in for questioning.

The Phu Nhuan District Police are currently investigating the incident and have not yet released any details.

According to Vietnamnet