Tien Giang police said they have charged ex-footballer Ho Truc Giang with betting on football, a second count after one of kidnapping for ransom last week.
Ho Truc Giang (L)
They added that Le Chi Cuong, aka Dung Soi, an accomplice of the former First Division footballer – Giang played for Hai Nhan Tien Giang club until being sacked this year – also faces both charges and remanded for two months.
Last month the duo along with another unidentified man abducted Ly Hoang Phuong, 25, of My Tho city for refusing to settle a betting debt of VND250 million ($13,150).
After the police stepped in and arrested the two gangsters, Giang turned himself in.
Giang, 21, is also alleged to have fixed First Division matches earlier this year and acted as a bookmaker for an illegal football betting ring.
He was fired by his club in May.