Judgment No. 30/2019/HSST dated october 29, 2019 on fraudulent appropriation of property

PEOPLE’S COURT OF QUANG BINH PROVINCE

JUDGMENT NO. 30/2019/HSST DATED OCTOBER 29, 2019 ON FRAUDULENT APPROPRIATION OF PROPERTY

On October 29, 2019 at the People’s Court of Quang Binh Province, the accepted criminal case No. 28/2019/HSST dated August 22, 2019 was brought for the public first instance trial under the Decision to hear the case No. 639/2019/QDXXST-HS dated September 16, 2019 against the defendants:

1. Defendant: Tran Thi Thuy H – born February 20, 1985 in H city; registered permanent residence address and residence prior to being arrested: 528B/1 H, X Ward, Y District, Ho Chi Minh City; occupation: None; education level: 7/12 grade; ethnic group: Kinh people; gender: Female; religion: None; nationality: Vietnamese; daughter of Mr. Tran Thanh T (deceased) and Mrs. Nguyen Thi K (deceased); criminal records: None.

The defendant is detained from December 14, 2018, currently detained in temporary detention center of Quang Binh Police. Present.

- Defender for Tran Thi Thuy H: Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa – Sole practitioner – Bar Association of Quang Binh Province. Present.

2. Defendant: Chau Thi Bich H1 – born September 4, 1980 in Kien Giang Province; registered permanent residence address and residence prior to being arrested: 6 Pham Van K, B Ward, H City, Kien Giang Province: occupation: Free worker; education level: 9/12 grade; ethnic group: Kinh people; religion: None; gender: Female; nationality: Vietnamese; daughter of Mr. Chau Kiet T (deceased) and Ms. Truong Thi H, married to Nguyen Trung B (divorced), 2 children, 1 born in 2007 and the other in 2010; criminal records: None.

The defendant is detained from January 23, 2019, currently detained in temporary detention center of Quang Binh Police. Present.

- Defender for Chau Thi Bich H1: Mr. Diep Kien Truc – Lawyer from Diep Truc Lawyer office - Bar Association of Quang Binh Province. Present.

- Other individuals related to the proceeding:

- The aggrieved party:

1. Mr. Tran Duc H, born 19972, address: T Hamlet, T Commune, D City, Quang Binh Province. Present

2. Ms. Hoang Thi T, Born 1970, address: Q Neighborhood, N Town, B District, Quang Binh Province. Ms. T authorizes Mr. Nguyen Chi T, born 1986, address: N Hamlet, V Commune, B District, Quang Binh Province. Present.

Witness: Ms. Giap Thi Song H, born 1974, address: 94/1053D of N Road, Z Ward, G District, Ho Chi Minh City. Absent

THE CASE

Depending on the case file and development at the court, the case shall be summarized as follows:

In around June, 2018, Tran Thi Thuy H arrived at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where H met and got acquainted with 3 foreigners who are black Africans, H did not know their accurate nationality or name; H usually referred to one of them as Chuwumeka. H was given a hotel room rented by the foreigners, communicated with in English and incited to commit fraudulent for asset appropriation together.

Over the period from June, 2018 to December 13, 2018, Tran Thi Thuy H entered Vietnam multiple times, used her passport in many banks in Ho Chi Minh City to open many accounts with cards capable of making international payment and being withdrawn overseas, Tran Thi Thuy H opened totally 13 accounts in 11 banks in Ho Chi Minh City, consisting of: 2 accounts at Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank);  2 accounts at Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank); Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB); Indovina Bank Ltd. (IVB); Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDbank); Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB); Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank); Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Viettinbank); Vietnam Maritime Commercial Join Stock Bank (Maritimebank). Total amount of money submitted in all accounts is VND 8,477,527,947.

Chau Thi Bich H1 got to know with an individual whom Tran Thi Thuy H referred to as Chuwumeka via social media and later regularly met in Ho Chi Minh City and rented hotel rooms with this individual. From December 2, 2018, Chau Thi Bich H1 used her ID card at banks in Ho Chi Minh City to open multiple accounts with international payment cards, gave the foreigners her accounts and received VND 500,000 per account. The investigation revealed H1 opened 9 accounts consisting of: Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam; Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade; Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank; Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank; Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank; Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank; Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank; Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam; Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank. Total amount of money submitted in all accounts is VND 6,542,924,685.

The foreigners repeatedly used Facebook accounts to add friends and talk with many Vietnamese, introduced themselves as military personnel or businessmen with U.S nationality. After a period of getting to know each other with emergence of sentiments and trust, the foreigners would ask to borrow money or gift them with money or high-value presents. Tran Thi Thuy H used phone with SIM cards that she was not the owner to call fraud victims, introduced herself as international courier and requested them to transfer money to the accounts to receive goods and/or products sent from abroad then appropriated their money. H was unable to identify which SIM that she had used nor to whom did she cal except she only followed arrangement of the foreigners.

In around August, 2018, H1 received warning from Ms. Giap Thi Song H who owned the hotel where the foreigners rented about the black foreigners whom H1 met and transferred money to committing fraud to appropriate assets and hiring other people to open accounts to receive money generated by such acts of fraudulent. Chau Thi Bich H1 knew that the foreigners committed fraudulence and used her accounts to receive illegal profit but she went on to open more accounts and withdraw money for the foreigners for personal gain and commissions. When large amount of money was transferred to the accounts of Chau Thi Bich H1, the foreigners would inform her to arrive at the banks directly to withdraw and hand the money over to the foreigners. The investigation revealed that Chau Thi Bich H1 made 31 instances of money withdrawal with total value of VND 4,797,625,000.

Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1’s acts of committing fraudulent to appropriate money of Ms. Hoang Thi T:

At the end of July, 2018, Ms. Hoang Thi T got to know a foreigner via Facebook with the account of Robinson Adams who offered to send gifts and money to her and asked to borrow her money to implement railway repair project in Indonesia. Ms. Hoang Thi T made 4 financial transactions, which included financial transactions made to account No. 060189725496 in Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank of Tran Thi Thuy H with an amount of VND 745,846,000, account No. 0501000182849 in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City branch of Chau Thi Bich H1 with an amount of VND 1,098,000,000 and account No. 115704070002806 in Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank of Nguyen Thi H with an amount of VND 83,400,000. The total transferred amount is VND 1,927,246,000.

Tran Thi Thuy H withdrew VND 745,846,000 from account No. 060189725496, VND 685,000,000 of which was withdrawn on September 18, 2018 via 2 instances: Withdrawal of VND 515,000,000 via withdrawal order No. TT18261T541Y at Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank – Central Ho Chi Minh City branch and VND 170,000,000 via withdrawal order No. TT182619PK2R in Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank – Sai Gon branch. The remaining amount of VND 60,846,000 submitted by Ms. T was withdrawn at an ATM in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

After withdrawing cash, H exchanged the money into USD at jewelry stores in Ho Chi Minh City and gave it to a Filipina woman according to instructions of the foreigner. H was split USD 1,500.

Regarding acts of H1: Chau Thi Bich H1 withdrew VND 1,098,000,000 submitted by Ms. Hoang Thi T to account No. 0501000182849 owned by H1 in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City branch; in which, H1 withdrew VND 770,000,000 directly in cash on September 25, 2018; VND 320,000,000 in cash and VND 8,000,000 from ATMs on September 26, 2018 up to a total of 1,090,000,000 from Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam – North Sai Gon branch.   The investigation revealed that H1 handed the withdrawn money over to the foreigner and was split VND 25,000,000.

Tran Thi Thuy H’s acts of appropriating money of Mr. Tran Duc H:

Mr. Tran Duc H got to know a foreigner via Facebook with an account of Woodard Tyler who stated that they would send him US Dollar and requested him to submit fees. Then Mr. H received a phone call from a woman speaking in a southern accent who identified herself as a customs official of Tan Son Nhat Airport which informed him that the package had arrived and requested him to submit money. Mr. H transferred VND 155,000,000 to account No. 007.100.1239778 owned by Tran Thi Thuy H in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam via 2 instances: VND 30,000,000 on August 8, 2018 and VND 125,000,000 on August 10, 2018; Mr. H’s money transferred to H’s account was withdrawn at ATMs in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

The investigation revealed that Tran Thi Thuy H opened the accounts, received the cards and handed the cards over to the foreigner to receive money of fraud victims and withdraw from ATMs. H was paid USD100 per account in addition to received a hotel room by the foreigner and used phones with multiple numbers to contact the aggrieved individuals, introduce herself as delivery person and request them to submit fees to the account to receive the goods; H was paid USD 500 per month, H had received payments of 2 months which was USD 1,000. Thus over the period from February to December, 2018, Tran Thi Thuy H received USD 3,400 from the foreigners including the USD 900 from opening accounts; USD 1,500 from withdrawing cash and USD 1,000 from pretending to be a delivery person and calling the victims. Total amount of money transferred to Tran Thi Thuy H’s accounts by Hoang Thi T and Tran Duc H was VND 900,846,000. During the period of committing violations, Chau Thi Bich H1 was split 3% of the withdrawn amount by the foreigners, thus H1 received approximately VND 50,000,000 which included VND 4,500,000 from opening 9 accounts; VND 25,000,000 submitted by Ms. Hoang Thi T and remaining amount from other instances of withdrawal split by the foreigners.

According to Assessment conclusion No. 268/PC09(GD) dated April 2, 2019 of Criminal Technique Department of Police authority of Quang Binh Province: Handwriting and signatures on 2 withdrawal order of Tran Thi Thuy H and handwriting, signatures on 2 self-declaration forms of Tran Thi Thuy H were produced by the same individual. Handwriting and signatures on 2 withdrawal order of Chau Thi Bich H1 and handwriting, signature on self-declaration form of Chau Thi Bich H1 were produced by the same individual.

Investigators of Police authority of Quang Binh Province solicited Department of Information and Communications of Quang Binh Province to appraise 2 Facebook accounts that had added Hoang Thi T and Tran Duc H as friends and messaged them but the gathered information did not provide traceability for users of said accounts. Appraising 2 mobile phones of Tran Thi Thuy H and 1 mobile phone of Chau Thi Bich H1 and extracting data on said phones revealed messages about opening accounts, withdrawing money and splitting appropriated money between Chau Thi Bich H1 with the foreigners in English via WhatsApp application which were translated into Vietnamese.

Regarding the foreigners directly colluding with Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 in committing violations and the Filipina who received money from Tran Thi Thuy H, Police authority and investigators of Quang Binh Province had carried out investigations yet information was insufficient for verification and tracking. The investigation revealed the foreigner is known by the name of Ekwwegbalu James Nzube, born on May 17, 1976 who related to the foreigner named Chuwumeka, the investigating authority has issued wanted notice but no results have been found.

Regarding remaining amount of money in accounts of Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1, investigating police authority of Quang Binh Province has issued warning on crime exploits and bank accounts opened by Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 to investigating police authority of Ministry of Public Security to inform other provinces and cities to identify aggrieved party for solutions as per the law.

According to denunciation form of Ms. Hoang Thi T, investigating police authority of Quang Binh Province conducted verification and investigations on Nguyen Thi Hang and account No. 115704070002806 in the  Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank to which Ms. T transferred the money. The account is owned by Nguyen Thi Hang, born on October 20, 1973, permanent residence registration in Dai Dong Hamlet, Dai Mach Commune, Dong Anh District, Hanoi City, ID card No. 013904273 issued by Police authority of Hanoi City on April 22, 2013. However, verification revealed that nobody with the name of Nguyen Thi Hang registered for permanent or temporary residence in Dai Mach Hamlet and no applications for issuance of ID card No. 013904273 existed. Thus the applicant and user of this account are unidentified, investigating police authority of Quang Binh Province are continuing with investigation and shall take actions as per the law once aforementioned individuals are verified.

Regarding evidence of the case:

Suspended items on Tran Thi Thuy H: 1 passport No. B6090548 bearing the name of Tran Thi Thuy H issued by Vietnam Immigration Department of Ministry of Public Security on November 14, 2011; 1 Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile phone, dark blue, IMEI: 35903006303559, secondhand phone. 1 Huawei mobile phone, white, 1st IMEI: 869263029203704, 2^nd IMEI: 869263029203712, secondhand phone, cracked screen; 1 card receipt notice of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Viettinbank), dated November 28, 2018 – USD 1,000 in cash, VND 3,000,000 in cash.

Suspended items on Chau Thi Bich H1:

- 1 ID card No. 370835231 bearing name of Chau Thi Bich H1, issued on February 21, 2013 by Police authority of Kien Giang Province; 1 passport No. C4738557, bearing name of Chau Thi Bich H1, issued on March 7, 2018; 1 Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime SM - G610F mobile phone, black, 1^st IMEI: 352810096560327, 2^nd IMEI: 3528110965660325, secondhand phone.

- 1 Viettel sim card, serial number No. 8984048851001233354; 1 Viettel sim card, serial number No. 8984040667007694700; 1 Mobifone sim card, serial number No. 8401160292046179; 1 Belien sim card, serial number No. 898407210010251874, all are secondhand sim cards.

- 1 USD 100 note, 1 USD 5 note, 1 USD 2 note, 1 USD 1 note, VND 10,500,000 – 1 ATM of Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank), card number: 5246868612366891; 1 ATM of Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB), card number: 9704480441731498; 1 ATM of Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB), card number: 9704431091172772; 1 ATM of Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPbank) card number: 4665842500326734.

- 4 withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam; 1 instrument requesting closing of demand deposit accounts in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam dated October 3, 2018; 1 pay-in slip in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam dated October 3, 2018; 5 withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam; 3 withdrawal orders in Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank; 2 withdrawal order in Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank; 4 cash withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.

Regarding civil responsibilities:

Mr. Tran Duc H requested the defendant Tran Thi Thuy H to be responsible for paying him the VND 155,000,000 which was appropriate by the defendant.

Ms. Hoang Thi T represented by Mr. Nguyen Chi T requested the defendant Tran Thi Thuy H to return VND 745,846,000, requested the defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 to return VND 1,098,000,000.

Under Indictment No. 188/VKS-P3 dated August 22, 2019 of the People’s Procuracy of Quang Binh Province, the defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 were prosecuted for fraudulence for appriopriating assets according Point a Clause 4 Article 174 of the Criminal Code 2015.

at the court, - Defendant Tran Thi Thuy H admitted all violations, the Indictment of the People’s Procuracy and using their passport to open accounts in multiple banks and handing over to the foreigners to receive USD 100 per account; The defendant admitted making 2 withdrawal instances of VND 685,000,000 submitted to their account by Ms. Hoang Thi T, exchanging to USD and handing to the foreigners to receive USD 1,500; the defendant admitted using phones according to instructions of the foreigners, pretending to be a salewoman to gain trust of the aggrieved individuals and ask them to transfer money and receiving payment of USD 1,000. The defendant however stated that they did not appropriate VND 900,846,000 as concluded by the Indictment but only withdrew and handed to the foreigners to receive wages claiming that they were not aware that this is a violation against the law. Regarding the evidence, the defendant stated USD 1,800 was suspended, not USD 1,000 as specified in the Indictment.

- Mr. Tran Duc H requested the defendant Tran Thi Thuy H to return VND 155,000,000.

- Ms. Hoang Thi T’s representative requested the defendant Tran Thi Thuy H to return VND 745,846,000, requested the defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 to return VND 1,098,000,000.

- The defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 admitted opening multiple accounts in multiple banks and handed over to the foreigners for VND 500,000 payment per account opened. The defendant admitted withdrawing VND 1,090,000,000 of Ms. Hoang Thi T and handed to the foreigners to receive wages without using 99ny. The defendant did not remember the total amount of money that they had received from withdrawing money submitted by Ms. Hoang Thi T other than VND 1,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 per withdrawal instance.

- Representative of People’s Procuracy of Quang Binh Province after assessing the nature and danger to society of the violations of the defendants retained the original decision and requested the trial panel to adopt Point a Clause 4 Article 174; Point s Clause 1 Article 51 of the Criminal Code 2015 to sentence Tran Thi Thuy H from 13 to 14 years in prison; adopt Point a Clause 4 Article 174; Point s Clause 1 Article 51, Article 54 of the Criminal Code 2015 to sentence Chau Thi Bich H1 from 11 to 12 years in prison; requested the defendants to pay damages for the aggrieved individuals as demanded and incur court costs as per the law.

The defenders stated: Defenders for the defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 h99d no objections against the “fraudulence for appropriation of assets" charge according to Article 174 of the Criminal Code but the Indictment of People’s Procuracy of Quang Binh Province and impeachment of the procurator at the court hearing. The defenders claimed that the defendants only participated as accomplices thus should only be responsible for the money received from the foreigners.

The defender for Tran Thi Thuy H claimed that Tran Thi Thuy H only committed violations specified in Point c Clause 2 Article 174 of the Criminal Code and requested the trial panel to apply mitigating circumstances specified in Points s and t Clause 1 Article 51 of the Criminal code, the defendant was first-time offenders facing hardships, and consider adoption of lighter penalties.

Defender for Chau Thi Bich H1 requested the trial panel to adopt Clause 1 Article 174, Points s, i, g and h Clause 1 Article 51, Article 54 to impose the lowest level of the penalty range or non-custodial reform on Chau Thi Bich H.

Final words of the defendants:

Defendant Tran Thi Thuy H: Pleaded with the trial panel to reduce the penalties.

Defendant Chau Thi Bich H1: Apologized to the aggrieved individuals and pleaded the trial panel to reduce the penalties.

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

On the basis of the case details, based on the case files and evidence that have been involved in the litigation at the court, the Judicial Panel forms the judgments as follows:

 [1] With respect to the offense, the proceeding decision of the investigating police authority of Quang Binh Province, investigators, the People’s Supreme Procuracy of Quang Binh Province and procurators during the investigation and prosecution has correctly complied with the competence and procedures specified by the Criminal Procedure Code. Throughout the investigation and at court, defendants and the aggrieved party had no complaints regarding the proceeding and decisions thereon of investigating authority, investigators, the Procuracy and procurators. Thus, all acts and decisions on proceeding carried out by legal proceeding authority and individual are legitimate.

 [2] Throughout the investigation and at court, defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 admitted:

In 2018, Tran Thi Thuy H used her personal passport to open 13 accounts with international payment functionality in various banks in Ho Chi Minh City which she handed to the foreigners with password to receive money of fraud victims by convincing that they will send money and/or gifts with high value to them. H was paid USD 100 for each account and H had received USD 900 from the foreigners.

Ms. Hoang Thi T had transferred VND 745,846,000 to account No. 060189725496 in Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank owned by Tran Thi Thuy H, H withdrew VND 685,000,000 in cash and the remaining VND 60,846,000 was withdrawn at ATM in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Mr. Tran Duc H submitted VND 155,000,000 to account No. 007.100.1239778 owned by Tran Thi Thuy H in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City branch which was withdrawn at ATM in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Thus, the total amount of money transferred to account of H by Hoang Thi T and Tran Duc H was 900,846,000 which was withdrawn and appropriated by the foreigners by the help of H.

Chau Thi Bich H1 opened 9 accounts with international payment functionality which she handed over to the foreigners. Then, Ms. Hoang Thi T transferred VND 1,098,000,000 to account No. 0501000182849 owned by Chau Thi Bich H1 in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City branch. Despite knowing that the foreigners were committing fraud, H1 continued to withdraw money to receive her share, in September, 2018, H1 directly withdrew VND 1,090,000,000 at Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam – North Sai Gon branch and VND 8,000,000 at ATM. After withdrawing the money, H1 handed over to the foreigners and received her share in the appropriated money.

Comparing testimonies of the defendants and those of the aggrieved individuals, documents collected during investigation, assessment results and other evidence show complete consistency and conformance. Although the defendants claimed that they did not appropriate the money transferred by the victims to their accounts, the acts of opening said accounts using the defendants’ names, withdrawing in person, failing to prove who used their accounts to withdraw at ATMs and failing to prove to whom did they hand the money over mean they shall be responsible. H also used mobile phones to contact the victims, introduced herself as delivery person to form credibility, thus the defendant is identified to be colluding with the foreigners in providing false information and using personal accounts to appropriate money of the victims for personal gain. The act committed by the defendants directly infringes ownership rights protected by the law. Thus the conclusion: Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 committed “fraudulence for asset appropriation” charge specified in Point a Clause 4 Article 174 of the Criminal Code 2015 is consistent to decision on prosecution of the People’s Procuracy of Quang Binh Province and impeachment of procurators at the court.

 [3] Considering that the case is particularly severe, the violations of the defendants posed actual threats to society, not only directly infringed ownership rights protected by the law but also impacted social order, the defendants must be met with a serious penalties to rectify and prevent further occurrence.

 [4] Regarding aggravating circumstances: None.

Regarding criminal responsibility mitigating circumstances: During the investigation and at court, the defendants testified with an honest attitude and show repent99nce; the defendants are first-time offenders, with no criminal records, these are criminal responsibility mitigating circumstances according to Point s Clause 1 Article 51 of the Criminal code that should be taken into account.

 [5] Based on aforementioned assessment, defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 must be separated from social environment for a long period of time corresponding to the nature and danger of their violations to intimidate and prevent further violations.

Regarding additional penalties: Defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 claimed that they were having no income, thus not adopting additional penalties in form of financial penalties is appropriate.

 [6] Regarding evidence disposal:

Items include: 1 card receipt notice of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade dated November 28, 2018; 1 instrument requesting closing of demand deposit accounts in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam dated October 3, 2018; 1 pay-in slip in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam dated October 3, 2018; 5 withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam; 3 withdrawal orders in Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank; 2 withdrawal order in Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank; 4 withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam – are items proving violations thus shall be stored in the case file.

Items: 1 Passport No. B6090548 owned by Tran Thi Thuy H, issued by Immigration Department of Ministry of Public Security on November 14, 2011; 1 ID card No. 370835231 owned by Chau Thi Bich H1, issued by Police authority of Kien Giang Province on February 21, 2013; 1 Passport No. C4738557 owned by Chau Thi Bich H1, issued on March 7, 2018 – currently kept in case file - are identification documents thus shall be return to the defendants.

Items include 1 Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile phone, dark blue, IMEI No. 35903006303559, secondhand phone; 1 Huawei mobile phone, white, 1^st IMEI No. 869263029203704, 2^nd IMEI No. 869263029203712, secondhand phone, cracked screen; 1 Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime SM - G610F mobile phone, black, 1^st IMEI No. 352810096560327, 2^nd IMEI No. 3528110965660325, secondhand phone  are tools used to commit the violations, thus are advised to be confiscated for state budget.

Items: USD 1,000; VND 3,000,000 of Tran Thi Thuy H; 1 USD 100 note; 1 USD 5 note; 1 USD 2 note; 1 USD 1 note and 10,500,000 of Chau Thi Bich H1 must be suspended to enforce the sentence.

Items: 1 ATM of Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 5246868612366891; 1 ATM of Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 9704480441731498; 1 ATM of Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 9704431091172772; 1 ATM of Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 4665842500326734; 1 Viettel SIM card, serial number: 8984048851001233354; 1 Viettel SIM card, serial number: 8984040667007694700; 1 Mobifone SIM card, serial number: 8401160292046179; 1 Belien SIM card, serial number: 898407210010251874, all SIM cards are secondhand – of Chau Thi Bich H1 should be confiscated for disposal.

 [7] Regarding civil responsibilities:

The defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 withdrew the money transferred to their accounts by the victims, the defendants admitted receiving their share from the withdrawn money but failed to prove to whom they did hand over the money to, and thus the money that they had withdrawn must be returned to the owners. When the other individuals sharing the money are identified, civil responsibilities shall be dealt with in another judgment. At the court hearing, all aggrieved individuals requested the defendants to return the appropriated money. Thus compelling defendant H to return a total of VND 900,846,000, in which VND 745,846,000 shall be returned to Ms. T and VND 155,000,000 to Mr. H; the defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 to return VND 1,098,000,000 to Ms. Hoang Thi T according to request of the aggrieved individuals is satisfactory to Articles 584, 585, 586 and 589 of the Civil Code.

 [8] Regarding the foreigners directly colluding with Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 in committing violations and the Filipina who received money from Tran Thi Thuy H, Police authority and investigators of Quang Binh Province had carried out investigations yet information was insufficient for verification and tracking. The investigation revealed the foreigner is known by the name of Ekwwegbalu James Nzube, born on May 17, 1976 who related to the foreigner named Chuwumeka, the investigating authority has issued wanted notice but no results have been found. Further actions shall be taken upon investigation and verification producing results.

Nguyen Thi Hang, born on October 20, 1973, permanent residence registration in Dai Dong Hamlet, Dai Mach Commune, Dong Anh District, Hanoi City, ID card No. 013904273 issued by Police authority of Hanoi City on April 22, 2003 is currently unidentified. Investigating police authority of Quang Binh Province is continuing with investigation and shall take actions as per the law once aforementioned individual is verified.

 [9] Statement of the defenders claiming that the defendants committing “Fraudulence for asset appropriation” is considered well-grounded. However, the defenders request adoption of Clause 1 Article 174 of the Criminal Code with mitigating circumstances under Points i, g and h Clause 1 Article 51 and Article 54 of the Criminal Code for Chau Thi Bich H1 and adoption of Point c Clause 2 Article 174, Point t Clause 1 Article 51 for Tran Thi Thuy H is not well-grounded.

 [10] Statement of the procurator at the court hearing requesting adoption of Point a Clause 4 Article 174, Point s Clause 1 Article 51 of the Criminal Code in Viet Nam is well-grounded.

 [11] Regarding court costs: Defendants Tran Thi Thuy H1 and Chau Thi Bich H1 shall incur first instance criminal proceeding cost and first instance civil proceeding cost as per the law.

Based on the above-mentioned facts and matters, 

HEREBY DECIDES

1. Regarding charges and penalties:

The defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 commit the charge “Fraudulence for asset appropriation”

Pursuant to Point a Clause 4 Article 174; Point s Clause 1 Article 51, defendant Tran Thi Thuy H is sentenced to 13 years of imprisonment, penalty term begins from the date on which the defendant is detained which is December 14, 2018.Continue to detain the defendant to enforce the sentence (with separate Decision on detention of the trial panel). Pursuant to Point a Clause 4 Article 174; Point s Clause 1 Article 51, defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 is sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment, penalty term begins from the date on which the defendant is detained which is January 23, 2019. Continue to detain the defendant to enforce the sentence (with separate Decision on detention of the trial panel). Financial penalties imposed on the defendants Tran Thi Thuy H and Chau Thi Bich H1 shall be lifted.

2. Regarding civil responsibilities:

Pursuant to Article 48 of the Criminal Code and Articles 584, 585, 586 and 589 of the Civil Code 2015 in Viet Nam, defendant Tran Thi Thuy H is compelled to return VND 900,846,000 to the defendants, VND 745,846,000 of which is returned to Ms. Hoang Thi T and VND 155,000,000 is returned to Mr. Tran Duc H.

Defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 is compelled to return VND 1,098,000,000 to Ms. Hoang Thi T.

From the date on which the decisions come into effect (in case judgment enforcement authorities hold the rights to enforce judgment) or from the date on which written request for judgment enforcement of judgment creditors is produced (for amount of money to be paid to judgment creditors) to the moment on which all debts are repaid, the judgment debtors must incur interest of the outstanding judgment debt on a monthly basis as specified in Clause 2 Article 468 of the Civil Code 2015.

3. Regarding evidence disposal:

Pursuant to Article 47 of the Criminal Code, Article 106 of the Criminal Proceeding Code in Viet Nam.

3.1 Confiscate and transfer to State budget following evidence that are tools of crime: 1 Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile phone, dark blue, IMEI No. 35903006303559, secondhand phone; 1 Huawei mobile phone, white, 1st IMEI No. 869263029203704, 2nd IMEI No. 869263029203712, secondhand phone, cracked screen; 1 Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime SM - G610F mobile phone, black, 1st IMEI No. 352810096560327, 2nd IMEI No. 3528110965660325, secondhand phone are tools used to commit the violations, thus are advised to be confiscated for state budget.

3.2 Following evidence shall be suspended to ensure judgment enforcement:

- USD 1,000; VND 3,000,000 of Tran Thi Thuy H;

- 1 USD 100 note, 1 USD 5 note; 1 USD 2 note, 1 USD 1 note and VND 10,500,000 of Chau Thi Bich H1.

3.3. Following evidence shall be confiscated for disposal:

- 1 ATM of Vietnam Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 5246868612366891; 1 ATM of Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 9704480441731498; 1 ATM of Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 9704431091172772; 1 ATM of Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, card No. 4665842500326734.

- 1 Viettel sim card, serial number No. 8984048851001233354; 1 Viettel sim card, serial number No. 8984040667007694700; 1 Mobifone sim card, serial number No. 8401160292046179; 1 Belien sim card, serial number No. 898407210010251874, all are secondhand sim cards.

Items mentioned above bear characteristics as described in the evidence transfer record between Investigating police authority of Quang Binh Province and Civil proceeding department of Quang Binh Province dated September 11, 2019.

3.4 Evidence that is identification documents of the defendants currently kept in the case file shall be returned to the defendants, including:

- 1 Passport No. B6090548 owned by Tran Thi Thuy H, issued by Immigration Department of Ministry of Public Security on November 14, 2011; 1 ID card No. 370835231 owned by Chau Thi Bich H1, issued by Police authority of Kien Giang Province on February 21, 2013; 1 Passport No. C4738557 owned by Chau Thi Bich H1, issued on March 7, 2018.

3.5 Evidence includes: 1 card receipt notice of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade dated November 28, 2018; 1 instrument requesting closing of demand deposit accounts in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam dated October 3, 2018; 1 pay-in slip in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam dated October 3, 2018; 5 withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam; 3 withdrawal orders in Sai Gon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank; 4 withdrawal orders in Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam.

4. Regarding court costs: Pursuant to Article 136 of Criminal Proceeding Code and Resolution No. 326/2016/UBTVQH14 in Viet Nam dated December 30, 2016 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on court fees and court costs, defendant Tran Thi Thuy H must submit VND 200,000 for first instance criminal judgment costs and VND 39,025,000 for first instance civil judgment costs which shall be transferred to the State budget.

Defendant Chau Thi Bich H1 must submit VND 200,000 for first instance criminal judgment costs and VND 44,940,000 as first instance civil judgment costs which shall be transferred to the State budget.

In case the judgment is enforced according to Article 2 of Law on Civil Judgment enforcement in Viet Nam, civil judgment creditors and civil judgment debtors may agree on judgment enforcement, judgment enforcement rights, voluntary enforcement or compelled enforcement as specified in Articles 6, 7 and 9 of Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement. Statute of limitations shall comply with Article 30 of Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement.

Defendants and aggrieved persons present at court may appeal within 15 days from the date on which the first instance judgment is declared. Persons absent from the court hearing or when judgment is declared with reasonable excuse may appeal within 15 days from the date on which they receive the judgment or appropriately conveyed.