Miss Phuong Nga fraud trial: Witnesses and defendants deny each other's testimonies

(Baonghean.vn) - During the trial on the afternoon of June 27, witness Nguyen Mai Phuong denied the statements of the defendants and other witnesses, and affirmed that she had never met Cao Toan My.

The trial of Truong Ho Phuong Nga for fraud on the afternoon of June 27 heated up from the very first moments with the appearance of the "mysterious" witness Nguyen Mai Phuong - the person whose name Miss Phuong Nga repeatedly mentioned when answering questions in court.

The two defendants Phuong Nga and Thuy Dung in court.

At the request of Ms. Mai Phuong, the court accepted this witness's request to allow Ms. Phuong to be present at the trial but in a separate room and watch the trial via screen.

Witness Mai Phuong said she had never met Cao Toan My.

Testifying in court, witness Mai Phuong affirmed that she once met Mr. Nguyen Van Yen (the person who forged the house sale documents for Nga) and she did not know and had never met Cao Toan My.

The court asked Ms. Mai Phuong about the conflicting statements between the two sides. Ms. Phuong said: "Many people were asked by Nga to talk to me, asking me to be a witness, but when they couldn't, she turned around and said that to me."

"In 2015, Ms. Nga's mother gave money to a prison guard. I recorded Ms. Nga's mother giving the prison guard money to help her provide information. Ms. Nga's mother was the one who helped Nga and Dung provide information from inside to outside and from outside to inside. Ms. Nga's mother asked a police officer to contact a prison guard to give 50 million. Ms. Nga's mother wanted me to help her, but I couldn't help her with that," Ms. Phuong continued to testify and promised to release the recording of the 50 million transfer.

Witness Nguyen Mai Phuong confirmed that she did not know Cao Toan My.

Regarding the letters that defendant Nguyen Duc Thuy Dung wrote to her boyfriend Lu Minh Nghia on plastic bags from the prison, Ms. Phuong said that Nghia sent these letters to her, not to Nghia. At the same time, she affirmed that she did not know anyone to run the case and that the run the case was first suggested by Phuong Nga's mother.

Ms. Mai Phuong denied all the statements of the defendants and witnesses related to her. Mai Phuong also said she knew nothing about the collusion or the trial.

Phuong Nga's mother: "Ms. Nguyen Mai Phuong contacted me herself"

In court, when questioned by the lawyer, Ms. Ho Mai Phuong (Phuong Nga’s mother) stated that witness Mai Phuong contacted her herself and met her regularly. “Whatever Dung said, whatever Nga said, Ms. Mai Phuong knew and told me,” Ms. Ho Mai Phuong stated.

Accordingly, Ms. Ho Mai Phuong said that she recorded the entire conversation between her and Ms. Mai Phuong about what Ms. Mai Phuong said Nga said and what Dung said at the investigation agency. "I will provide the recording tomorrow (June 28)," Ms. Ho Mai Phuong said in court.

Ms. Ho Mai Phuong also added: “Ms. Nguyen Mai Phuong showed me 4 letters from Dung via Viber, but because I couldn’t read them, Ms. Mai Phuong and her daughter came to see me and showed me the letters. I asked how she knew these were letters from Dung. Ms. Mai Phuong said the letters were accurate because they were given by the prison warden himself and everything was arranged.”

Ms. Ho Mai Phuong (Phuong Nga's mother) testified in court.

Ms. Ho Mai Phuong also stated that Ms. Nguyen Mai Phuong proactively contacted her about 1 month after Nga was arrested. “She also gave me the phone numbers of some people in the Judiciary and told me to meet them,” Ms. Ho Mai Phuong stated.

Lawyers provide additional evidence related to witness Mai Phuong

Along with questioning witness Mai Phuong, the lawyers defending beauty queen Phuong Nga also presented many pieces of evidence related to Mai Phuong's important "arranging" role in this case.

Specifically: Lu Minh Nghia's petition sent to the investigation agency but was sent by Ms. Phuong to Phuong Nga's mother; Mai Phuong's photo sent to Phuong Nga's mother 2 months after Nga was arrested, Dung's letter sent to Lu Minh Nghia after the time of arrest and prosecution...

Lawyer Pham Cong Hung questioned witness Mai Phuong.

The mother of defendant Nga said that Mai Phuong gave those letters to gain her trust in Mai Phuong. “She also told me about the statements of Thuy Dung and Lu Minh Nghia. But when I asked about Cao Toan My’s statement, she said she didn’t know,” said the mother of defendant Nga.

Mai Phuong showed her the collection of letters on plastic paper. Defendant Nga's mother also confirmed that these letters were not the ones that Lu Minh Nghia submitted to the court this morning.

During the interrogation, Lu Minh Nghia also confirmed that of the more than 10 letters Thuy Dung sent, Nghia only kept 5 copies and submitted those 5 copies to the court. The letters Nghia kept were not the letters that Ms. Mai Phuong sent to the defendant Nga's mother.

Ngoc Lan

(Synthetic)