The dead man is Do Manh Hoan, of Hanoi’s Thanh Xuan District, and the arrested are 36-year-old Truong Kim Nhung and Vu Minh Tri, 36, Nhung’s husband – both live at 98 Thai Ha, Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da District – and Nguyen Hoang Viet, 35, of Thanh Xuan District.
The detainees have been charged with “illegally capturing people and causing serious consequences,” Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy head of Dong Da District Police, told Tien Phong Newspaper yesterday.
At 9 am on January 17, Nhung found Hoan hanging dead at her house and reported his death to police, who came and examined the scene.
Hoang had suffered many injuries to his head, eyes and elbows before death, police said.
Nhung told the police that Hoan borrowed VND460 million (US$21,900) from her and another lender, 38-year-old Ngo Tien Dung, in 2010 at an interest rate of VND10,000 per million per day.
After paying interest fully for a period, Hoan failed to continue his payments due to business losses. As a result, Nhung had Viet and some other people go to Hoan’s house to urge him to pay his debt.
On November 1, 2010, Nhung and her group forced Hoan to make a promissory note for VND1.5 billion ($71,500), including the principal and accrued interest, with the deadline for payment being one month later.
When the deadline was over, Hoan avoided meeting Nhung’s group, but in May 2011, Nhung and Tri found Hoan and took him to the couple’s house, where Tri and Viet forced him to sell his house in Thanh Xuan Bac District to repay the debt.
The house was later sold for VND1.72 billion from which Nhung’s group took VND460 million as principal and an additional amount for interest and expenses incurred while searching for the hiding Hoan. She then used the entire remaining amount to pay her husband’s debt, instead of returning it to Hoan.
In December 2011, Nhung, Tri and others came to Hoan’s house and took him to Nhung’s, where they brutalized Hoan and forced him to pay them the remaining debt of VND1.1 billion.
Hoan had been held there until he was found hanging dead.
The police are continuing their investigation.