The five defendants in the case. — Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security

HCM CITY — Vietnamese police have apprehended five individuals on charges of murder, robbery, and kidnapping in Cambodia.

The defendants, identified as Nguyễn Khắc Mạnh, 34, Nguyễn Văn Khoa, 29, Hoàng Văn Thanh, 24, and Nguyễn Ngọc Thảo and Phan Sỹ Dũng, both 27, are accused of subjecting their victims to severe mistreatment.

The An Giang Provincial Police have recommended prosecution for murder, robbery and kidnapping.

Several additional suspects remain at large as the investigation, overseen by the Ministry of Public Security, continues.

According to investigative reports, on August 24, 2023, five Vietnamese individuals from the northern provinces of Hải Dương, Ninh Bình, Bắc Giang, and Thanh Hóa were unlawfully transported to Cambodia under the pretence of job opportunities in Taiwan (China).

Upon their arrival, the victims were detained by a group led by Khoa, Mạnh, and Thanh, who confiscated their belongings in a boarding house located in Cambodia’s Kandal Province.

The victims were subjected to extreme abuse, which was recorded by Thanh, who subsequently demanded ransom from their families.

One victim from Hải Dương Province died from a traumatic brain injury after his family failed to comply with the ransom demand.

On August 25, following the transfer of nearly VNĐ500 million (US$19,600) by the families of three victims, Khoa and his associates fled the scene.

The remaining four victims managed to escape and sought assistance from Vietnamese authorities, who later discovered that Khoa’s group had stolen nearly VNĐ500 million along with property valued at over VNĐ70 million.

In July, five Vietnamese individuals implicated in facilitating the illegal border crossing of the victims were sentenced by An Giang Provincial People’s Court to prison, ranging from five years to six years and six months for organising illegal emigration. — VNS