Model Ngoc Trinh hopes for leniency: police

Model Ngoc Trinh during the investigation process. Photo courtesy of the police

The investigation wrapped up on Saturday, with the Ho Chi Minh City police transferring the necessary documents to the city’s People’s Procuracy and requesting charges of disturbing public disorder for the model.

Meanwhile, Trinh’s motorcycle driving instructor Tran Xuan Dong, 36, was proposed to be charged with disturbing public disorder and using fake documents.

According to investigators, Trinh and Dong "realized their law violations and expressed a desire to receive leniency from the law" during the investigation process.

Authorities announced in October last year that Trinh and Dong would be detained for three months for investigation into charges of "disturbance of public order."

They also performed a raid at Trinh’s house and seized evidence including three motorcycles of unknown origin, a flycam, fake vehicle documents, and other electronic devices.

The detainment came after investigators found that Trinh had posted five videos of herself riding the large displacement motorcycles on her TikTok channel and her Facebook pages, each of which has millions of followers.

Her videos were then spread more widely online, receiving strong public criticism, police said, as she performed poses including lying and kneeling on the vehicles’ saddles while driving on roads in Thu Duc City.

Investigators determined that such content "adversely affected public order and safety," and "negatively affected young people’s lifestyle and thinking," violating the Code of Conduct for social media behaviors issued by the Ministry of Information and Communication in 2021.

An investigation also found that Trinh had not obtained a license for driving large displacement motorcycles.

Born Tran Thi Ngoc Trinh, the 35-year-old model started her modeling career in 2005 before gaining public recognition with her lingerie and swimsuit photo shoots.

She then became the title winner of the Miss Vietnam International pageant in 2011.

She made her debut as an actress in 2016 with her role in "Vong Eo 56" (Queen of the Bikini), which was based on her life, and has participated in various movie projects since then.