Chinese businessman taken by compatriot in Vietnam for ransom

The procedural decisions were approved by Ha Tinh Provincial People's Procuracy and announced on Tuesday.

Rong Xin (R), his wife Tran Thi Phuong and four Vietnamese men when arrested by police in Ha Tinh Province. Photo by police

According to the investigation, due to business conflicts, another Chinese national asked Rong and his wife to "find and capture" fellow countryman Jiang Hao, 51, director of a company in Ha Tinh's Ky Anh Town, to collect a debt of VND52 billion.

According to the agreement, if successful, the married couple would receive up to 20% of the amount.

Around 8 p.m. on May 28, when Jiang was standing in front of a restaurant in Ky Anh, Rong's group approached and forced him into a car.

They drove Jiang to an abandoned house in an isolated area where they threatened and beat him, trying to force him to give nearly VND700 million, but the businessman refused.

The group then drove him to a hotel in the town that night, where they held him captive and continued to threaten and demand the money. Over the night, they raised their demand to VND1.1 billion.

The next morning, he agreed to transfer VND1.1 billion to the account provided by the suspects.

After receiving the money, the group released him on the afternoon of May 29.

Subsequently, Rong and his wife took the money and went on a trip to Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang City. They transferred VND5-25 million each to the other four men who helped them with the kidnapping and threatening Jiang.

Jiang then reported the case to the police and all the suspects were identified and arrested within a few days.

The Chinese man did not suffer any critical damage to his physical health.