Woman seizes billions from workers who want to go to UK illegally
(Baonghean.vn) - Although she did not have the authority to send Vietnamese people to work abroad, Hoa still colluded with Quyen to receive documents to send workers to the UK. When she could not send the workers abroad, Hoa still did not return all the money to the victims.
The High People's Court in Hanoi has just opened a criminal appeal trial to try defendants Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1973), residing in Vinh Son commune, Anh Son district and Hoang Huu Quyen (born in 1987), residing in Ha Dong, Hanoi for the crime of "Organizing others to flee abroad".
According to the case file, in early 2015, Nguyen Thi Hoa met a man named Nguyen Dinh Kien (residing in Hanoi). This person discussed with Hoa that there was a line to send people to the UK to work, if there was anyone, she would introduce them to Kien and receive a commission.
With the form of organizing labor to go to England by tourism, upon arrival, Kien will arrange jobs at farms with a salary of 40-60 million VND, cost 22,000 USD/person. If Hoa successfully brings one person to England, Kien will pay Hoa from 500-1,000 USD. Nguyen Thi Hoa agreed to be a consultant, receiving money to do the procedures to bring 10 Vietnamese citizens to England.
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| Defendant Nguyen Thi Hoa at the trial. Photo: Nguyen Duong |
In mid-2015, Hoa completed procedures for 3 relatives of Hoang Huu Quyen, including Hoang Huu U. (born in 1985), Hoang Huu T. (born in 1979), both residing in Hai Duong, Quyen's brother and cousin, and Hoa Van L. (born in 1975, residing in Hung Yen) to go to work in the UK. The form and procedures were advised by Hoa to go by tourism, the cost was 22,000 USD, 12,000 USD to be paid in advance, the remaining 10,000 would be deducted gradually from the salary when working in the UK.
On September 21, 2015, Hoang Huu Quyen paid Hoa a total of 36,000 USD, 65 million VND and 3 sets of documents. Hoa then transferred this amount to Kien to complete the visa application procedures. A few days later, Mr. U. and Mr. T. did not go to England anymore, so Hoa returned the money.
Because in Vietnam, she could not get a visa to go to England. On October 21, 2015, Hoa asked Quyen to take Mr. L. to Singapore to complete the procedures to go to England. However, because of the long wait, Mr. L. returned to Vietnam. Currently, Hoa has only returned 65 million VND to Mr. L., but Hoa has not yet paid the remaining 12,000 USD.
Also in 2015, Nguyen Thi Hoa took turns handling the paperwork and receiving money from 7 workers going to the UK as tourists. But after taking the workers to Thailand and Singapore to complete paperwork to go to the UK but they were unable to go, Hoa did not return the money to the workers, or only returned a portion.
Thus, Nguyen Thi Hoa received a total of 34,000 USD and 977 million VND from 10 workers. Hoa paid for the air tickets to Thailand and Singapore and the accommodation expenses of the workers, 80 million VND and 500 USD. Hoa transferred the remaining amount to Kien to complete the visa procedures to go to England.
After the above workers returned home, Nguyen Thi Hoa proactively returned a total of 297 million VND. Hoang Huu Quyen was the one who brought 5 workers to Thailand to help Hoa with the purpose of giving Hoa money to pay off Quyen's debt, but he has not yet benefited from helping Hoa.
At the first instance trial, the people involved demanded that the defendants return all the money they had embezzled. The two defendants Nguyen Thi Hoa and Nguyen Huu Quyen did not contest the charges and only asked the panel of judges to consider reducing their sentences. At the appeal trial, defendant Nguyen Huu Quyen requested to be tried in absentia.
The panel of judges determined that defendant Nguyen Thi Hoa had confessed honestly, repented of her actions, returned part of the money to the victim, and defendant Hoang Huu Quyen's family had contributed to the revolution, which were mitigating circumstances.
However, considering the nature, behavior, and role of the defendants, they are dangerous to society, affecting the labor cooperation regime of our State with other countries. Defendant Nguyen Thi Hoa is the main person in the case, the defendant has repeatedly sent many people abroad illegally, so she must be severely punished, defendant Hoang Huu Quyen has a secondary role, assisting Hoa. Currently, Nguyen Dinh Kien is not present in the locality, so it is not possible to determine whether Hoa gave money to Kien or not, the Court will separate it into another civil case.
Considering the case as a whole, the panel of judges did not accept the appeal and decided to uphold the first instance sentence of 5 years in prison for the defendant Nguyen Thi Hoa, and Hoang Van Quyen, 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence, and 36 months probation, both for the crime of "organizing others to flee abroad".