Deputy director prosecuted for hiring people to cut down 9 betel nut trees.
Tam noticed that the median strip was planted with many ornamental palm trees that were too tall to obstruct the view of the advertising signs, so he came up with the idea of hiring people to cut down the palm trees to create space and prevent the view from being obstructed. Tam hired three individuals to cut down nine palm trees for 15 million VND.
On November 18th, the Criminal Investigation Agency of Tan An City Police, Long An province, announced that it had concluded its investigation and transferred the case file to the People's Procuracy of the same level, requesting the prosecution of the following defendants: Tran Thanh Tam, born in 1993, residing on Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Ward 7, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Deputy Director of a media company located in Ward 5, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City; Duong Thong, born in 1992; Duong Thanh Nghia, born in 2000, residing in Thuy Dong Commune, Thanh Hoa District, Tan An City; and Phung Van Bang, born in 2000, residing in Ward 6, Tan An City, for the crime of destroying property.
Earlier, at 6:30 AM on September 23rd, the Police Station of Ward 2, Tan An City, Long An Province, received a report from the Tan An City Urban Upgrading Project Management Board that nine ornamental palm trees on the median strip of Hung Vuong Street, near the intersection of Hung Vuong and Bui Chi Nhuan streets, Ward 2, Tan An City, had been cut down by an unknown perpetrator. The Tan An City Police assigned and directed the Criminal Investigation Team to coordinate with relevant professional units to conduct a scene investigation and investigate the incident.
After 24 hours of investigation, the police identified three suspects: Thong, Nghia, and Bang, who committed the act of cutting down nine ornamental palm trees. They are currently residing in Ward 15, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.
During questioning at the investigative agency, Tam confessed that his company had previously leased advertising space from residents on Hung Vuong Street, Ward 2, Tan An City, and then subleased it to companies needing advertising space, obtaining permits in the process.
Through his survey, Tam noticed that the median strip in the area had many ornamental palm trees that were tall enough to obstruct the view of the advertising signs. This gave him the idea to hire someone to cut down the trees to create space and prevent the obstruction of the view. Tam hired the three individuals to cut down nine ornamental palm trees for 15,000,000 VND.
At approximately 9:30 PM on September 22nd, taking advantage of the rain, darkness, and lack of passersby, and to avoid detection by authorities, the three suspects used mud to cover two license plates to commit the crime. They also filmed and photographed the act of cutting down the ornamental palm trees to use as evidence for receiving money from Tam. After receiving the money from Tam, Thong transferred 3,000,000 VND to Nghia and 2,000,000 VND to Bang.
According to the asset valuation report by the authorities, the nine ornamental palm trees are worth more than 10 million VND. At the Police Investigation Agency, the three suspects admitted to all of the aforementioned crimes.
