The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the conviction of two Vietnamese nationals sentenced to reclusion perpetua for the kidnapping and illegal detention of a compatriot in 2022.

In a 10-page decision penned by Associate Justice Ramon Cruz dated 18 August 2025, the CA’s Fifth Division denied the appeal of accused-appellants Phan Minh Viet, 31, and Chi Trung Nguyen, 29, who sought the reversal of the ruling issued by the Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) on 29 November 2023.

The appellate court ruled that the prosecution sufficiently established the involvement of Viet and Trung in the abduction of Vietnamese national Nguyen Thi Be Van, who was held captive from 29 October to 16 November 16.

“A judicious review of the records reveals that the prosecution was able to establish the participation of accused-appellants Trung and Viet in the commission of the crime,” the CA declared.

Court records show that Trung lured the victim into a car by inviting her to meet a supposed businessman with a proposal. Shortly after, two armed Chinese nationals intercepted the vehicle, blindfolded Van, and assaulted her while forcing her to disclose her phone and bank account passwords.

Van testified that Trung sat beside her during the ordeal but remained unharmed, raising suspicion about his role. She was then brought to a safe house where she encountered Viet, who allegedly used her phone to call her brother in Vietnam and demand a P50-million ransom for her release.

While in captivity, Van was repeatedly beaten and later transferred to another safe house, where the abuse continued until her family agreed to pay the ransom. She was eventually released in Antipolo on 16 November 2022.

Operatives of the Philippine National Police–Anti-Kidnapping Group arrested Viet and Trung the following day. During the trial, Van positively identified the two as her kidnappers, noting that she knew them personally prior to the crime.

Both accused denied the charges, but the CA upheld the RTC’s findings, stressing that Trung facilitated the crime under false pretenses, while Viet actively participated in the ransom negotiations.

“The records show that shortly after she boarded the vehicle, several Chinese nationals intercepted it, boarded, assaulted her, and brought her to a safe house where she was held captive. Meanwhile, Trung was released unharmed. This sequence of events defies ordinary human experience, as a genuine victim or witness would not be set free by the kidnappers,” the CA ruling stated.

The court added that Van’s clear and consistent testimony, combined with her identification of the accused, left no reasonable doubt about their culpability.

Both Viet and Trung will serve reclusion perpetua as earlier imposed by the Pasay RTC.