Ngô Bá Khá at the trial on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

BẮC NINH — The People’s Court in the northern province of Bắc Ninh handed jail terms to Ngô Bá Khá and another five found guilty of gambling at a first instance trial on Wednesday.

Twenty-six-year-old Ngô Bá Khá, whose nickname is “Khá Bảnh” (Handsome Kha), was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison, along with a fine of VNĐ30 million (US$1,290) for gambling and organising gambling.

Nguyễn Hữu Hội got eight years and six months for the same charge, together with a fine of VNĐ30 million.

Other defendants, including Nguyễn Văn Quang, Trịnh Hữu Quý, Ngô Lương An and Nguyễn Trọng Công, received jail sentences ranging from 15 months to five years and had to pay VNĐ10 million in fines for organising gambling.

According to the indictment, from January and April this year, Kha took advantage of the State lottery.

The total proceeds of the gambling ring over 44 days totalled over VNĐ4.6 billion and he illegally earned over VNĐ280 million.

Quang and Hội helped Khá in getting numbers from players and their payments.

Khá also gambled with other defendants.

Khá was a high-profile public figure for posting a violent clip on social media. His YouTube has nearly 2 million subscribers.

One of his highly controversial clips involved him setting fire to his motorbike. Although he explained the vehicle is old, he decided to set it alight. However, he received many controversial comments and deleted the clip.

He was once put into a rehabilitation centre and has several criminal charges.  VNS