CA upholds Vietnamese kidnappers’ conviction

The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the kidnapping conviction of two Vietnamese nationals who were sentenced to reclusion perpetua, or life imprisonment, for the abduction of a compatriot.

In an 18 August decision, the appellate court’s Fifth Division denied the petition for review filed by Phan Minh Viet and Chi Trung Nguyen, affirming the guilty verdict handed down by the Pasay Regional Trial Court on 29 November 2023.

The court agreed with the trial court’s finding that prosecutors had proved the two were involved in the kidnapping and detention of Nguyen Thi Be Van from 29 October to 16 November 2022.

During the trial, Van testified that Trung invited her to a bar to meet his boss about a business proposal. Trung, a former employee of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator, arranged a car to pick her up.

Shortly after she entered the vehicle, two armed Chinese nationals entered and blindfolded her. They took her phone and forced her to reveal her passwords. Van said her blindfold was briefly removed, at which point she saw Trung sitting quietly and unharmed.

Van was taken to a safe house, where she saw Viet, who used her phone to call her brother in Vietnam and demand a P50-million ransom. She was beaten at the first safe house and then transferred to a second one four days later, where the beatings continued. After the ransom was paid, she was released somewhere in Antipolo.

Both Trung and Viet were arrested by the Philippine National Police-Anti-Kidnapping Group the day after Van’s release. Van testified that she knew both men before the kidnapping.

The CA said Trung’s claim of being a victim was not credible, stating that his release unharmed “defies ordinary human experience.” The court also noted that Van positively identified Viet as one of her captors.