Ngô Hoàng Thanh, 34, from HCM City (left); Nguyễn Hồng Hải, 32, from Tây Ninh Province. — Photo from Đồng Tháp Province

ĐỒNG THÁP — A court in southern Việt Nam on Monday sentenced two men to a combined 17 years in prison for organising the illegal exit of a Malaysian national to Cambodia, who died after jumping from their car on an expressway last year.

The People's Court of Region 5 in Đồng Tháp Province sentenced Ngô Hoàng Thanh, 34, from HCM City, to nine years in prison and Nguyễn Hồng Hải, 32, from Tây Ninh Province, to eight years for organising the illegal exit of others.

According to the indictment, at about 1:15pm on November 24, 2025, a mobile patrol team from the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security discovered the body of a man on the HCM City–Trung Lương–Mỹ Thuận Expressway in Mỹ Lợi Commune, Đồng Tháp Province.

The victim was identified as A.L.K.C., a Malaysian national.

Police investigation determined that Thanh and Hải had organised to take C. illegally out of Việt Nam and into Cambodia.

Investigators said Thanh and Hải had been recruited and assigned by other members of the network to pick up foreign nationals after they entered Việt Nam and transport them to Châu Đốc Bus Station in An Giang Province. They would then hand the passengers over to others, who arranged for them to cross into Cambodia through unofficial routes.

Thanh was paid US$1,000–2,000 (about VNĐ25–50 million) for each successful illegal exit, and subsequently shared part of the payment with Hải according to their agreement.

In C.'s case, the victim entered Việt Nam through Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City on November 24, 2025. Thanh and Hải then picked him up by car and drove him towards An Giang to arrange his illegal exit to Cambodia.

Hải was driving, Thanh was sitting in the front passenger seat, while C. was alone in the rear.

During the journey, C. reportedly became increasingly tense and displayed signs of psychological distress. He subsequently opened the car door and jumped onto the road, suffering fatal injuries.

The investigation by Đồng Tháp's Security Investigation Agency determined that C. was a victim of a network that organised the illegal movement of foreign nationals into Cambodia, where they were reportedly recruited to work for companies and organisations involved in online scam operations in an autonomous region.

Apart from C.'s case, Thanh had organised the illegal exit of five other foreign nationals to Cambodia, earning VNĐ116 million in illicit proceeds. Hải assisted Thanh in taking four of them out of Việt Nam illegally and received VNĐ19 million. — VNS