The fake 'sorcerer' and his scheme to swindle naive women out of love and money.
Nguyen Manh Quan, posing as a "sorcerer," took advantage of a woman's unstable mental state, demanding money for "exorcism" and sexual relations to "ward off evil spirits."
On May 12th, the Criminal Police Team of Hoang Mai District Police, Hanoi, announced that they had issued a decision to temporarily detain Nguyen Manh Quan (born in 1987, residing in Thanh Thuy District, Phu Tho Province) on charges of fraud and appropriation of property.
I transferred money multiple times to pay for exorcisms performed by a fake "sorcerer".
The victim in this case is Nguyen Thi L. (from Hanoi). In her complaint sent to the Criminal Police Team of Hoang Mai District Police, Ms. L. stated: In early April 2020, she used a fake Facebook account named "Do Not Disturb" to join the Facebook group "Vietnamese Astrology". There, she described her symptoms, including frequent changes in complexion throughout the day, mood swings, and psychological instability...
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| Nguyen Manh Quan at the investigative agency. Photo: Provided by the police. |
Shortly after sharing the post, the Facebook account "thuy phong" messaged back, introducing himself as Quan, currently a feng shui master... After that, Ms. L. and Quan frequently exchanged messages via the Zalo account "Astrology and Physiognomy" and phone messages. Quan introduced himself as a "sorcerer" and claimed to be able to read horoscopes and physiognomy by examining palm lines and playing cards, and said that Ms. L. had a past life connection and that a spirit (the soul of a deceased person) was following her and affecting her life, requiring a ritual.
Trusting Quân's words, on April 6th, Ms. L. transferred 2 million VND to Quân's account for the ritual, and the next day transferred another 3 million VND to buy other items. Seeing that the victim was easy to exploit, Quân demanded nearly 70 million VND in subsequent transfers, threatening that many "spirits" were still following her.
Taking advantage of the victim's vulnerability, Quân not only swindled money but also deceived her emotionally, exploiting her gullibility. He even committed rape. At the police station, Ms. L. stated: After transferring money twice for a ritual to remove a curse, Quân said it still wasn't enough, so he demanded that L. have sexual relations with a sorcerer like himself, otherwise she would die prematurely if she ever married or had a romantic relationship with anyone. Believing the fake sorcerer, on April 8th and 15th, L. agreed to have sexual relations with Quân for the purpose of curing her. Quân then demanded an additional 15 million VND, but the victim refused and reported the incident to the police.
After receiving the information, the Criminal Police Team launched an investigation and planned the arrest of the perpetrator. On the evening of May 7th, when the "sorcerer" came to meet L. to receive the money, he was inspected, discovered, and arrested by the Hoang Mai District Police.
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At the police station, Quân evasively denied the charges, claiming he had received money to perform a ritual. To prove and clarify Quân's criminal behavior, the task force went to Đông Trung commune, Thanh Thủy district, Phú Thọ province to meet with Ms. Dinh (Quân's wife), who stated that Quân and his family did not have an altar, nor did they work as shamans or feng shui practitioners. On April 5th, Quân did not perform any ritual at home and did not give her any money…
The task force also worked with the Dong Trung Commune Police in Thanh Thuy District, providing information that the suspect had never previously worked in the fields of rituals, feng shui, or fortune-telling. Simultaneously, the Criminal Police Team printed and copied the bank statements of the victim L. and Quan, confirming the time, content, and amount of money transferred and received from April 6th to April 20th, totaling 69.5 million VND.
Faced with the evidence gathered, Nguyen Manh Quan confessed to all his crimes: Quan has a wife and two children, but due to his extravagant nature, he maintained extramarital relationships, leading to mounting debts. After hearing about the victim L.'s situation, Quan, in his financial predicament, conceived the idea of defrauding and appropriating her property. Although Quan was not a professional shaman, he exploited L.'s desperate situation to steal money and satisfy his sexual desires. He used the money L. transferred for him to perform rituals for personal expenses...
Currently, the Criminal Investigation Team has taken Ms. L. to the Central Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital for examination of her injuries and is continuing to investigate Quân's criminal behavior. The Hoang Mai District Police Investigation Agency is continuing to gather evidence and clarify the act of rape in order to prosecute Quân according to the law.