Defendants appearing before the court. — vienkiemsathaiphong.gov.vn

HẢI PHÒNG — The trial of two foreign defendants for the crime of theft opened in Hải Phòng City on March 7.

Defendants Yoo Ju Hyoung and Choi Gi Tae (both South Korean nationals), and four Vietnamese accomplices, were jointly accused of stealing steel from a construction site.

They appeared at the People’s Court of Hải Phòng City for theft as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 173 of the Penal Code.

The alleged crime took place in the Tràng Duệ Industrial Park, An Dương District, Hải Phòng City.

According to the investigation, the defendants admitted that although they did not discuss or assign roles beforehand, they acted together in a series of criminal acts.

After Yoo Ju Hyoung came up with the idea to steal property from the construction site of MDA Company in Tràng Duệ Industrial Park, the other defendants, Choi Gi Tae, Phùng Văn Phòng, Phùng Văn Minh, Đỗ Văn Điệp, and Đào Văn Biên coordinated through their actions.

Yoo negotiated with Tae to sell 20 tonnes of brand-new steel, in the form of galvanised pipes for Zeit Company's project, at a low price, without any documents of origin, sales contracts, or the presence of buyers, sellers or representatives of the owner.

Only images of the goods and their location in the warehouse were shared, enabling Tae and the Vietnamese group to remove the goods from the warehouse.

Tae then resold the goods to Minh, who agreed to take them from the warehouse for resale.

Minh directed Điệp to meet with Yoo and Tae to collect the warehouse key, find buyers, facilitate the removal of the goods, and deliver the proceeds to Minh for a profit.

Minh also co-ordinated with the AT Company's security team to safely transport nearly twenty tonnes of steel out of MDA's warehouse, valued at more than VNĐ612 million (US$24,000).

After the prosecutor presented the case, the defendants acknowledged their wrongdoing and requested leniency from the court, hoping for an early return to their families.

A representative from the South Korean Embassy in Việt Nam attended the trial, expressing regret over the involvement of South Korean citizens in a crime in Việt Nam.

The embassy also requested the court to show leniency towards Yoo and Tae, hoping they would benefit from Việt Nam's humanitarian policies.

At the conclusion of the trial, the court issued sentences at the lower end of the penalty framework, ensuring fairness by taking into account the defendants' roles, the nature of their actions, and the severity of their crimes. — VNS