DONG THAP: A court in southern Vietnam on Monday (Sept 28) 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 Dong Thap province sentenced Ngo Hoang Thanh, 34, from HCM City, to nine years in prison and Nguyen Hong Hai, 32, from Tay Ninh province, to eight years for organising the illegal exit of others.
According to the indictment, at about 1:15pm on Nov 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 Luong-My Thuan Expressway in My Loi Commune, Dong Thap province.
The victim was identified as A.L.K.C., a Malaysian national.
Police investigation determined that Thanh and Hai had organised to take C. illegally out of Vietnam and into Cambodia.
Investigators said Thanh and Hai had been recruited and assigned by other members of the network to pick up foreign nationals after they entered Vietnam and transport them to Chau Doc 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 Hai according to their agreement.
In C.'s case, the victim entered Vietnam through Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City on Nov 24, 2025. Thanh and Hai then picked him up by car and drove him towards An Giang to arrange his illegal exit to Cambodia.
Hai 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 Dong Thap'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 VND116 million in illicit proceeds. Hai assisted Thanh in taking four of them out of Vietnam illegally and received VND19 million. — VNS
