Gang slashes motorbike plates with swords for social media stunts

Nguyen Van Chinh, 18, recruited around 20 men around his age to form the gang, police in Tien Tu District of Hung Yen Province said Tuesday.

Chinh is now under investigation for intentionally inflicting injury and robbery.

Police are verifying those involved.

Men carry along weapons on a motorbike to chop down license plates of motorbikes on a street in Hung Yen Province in this screenshot photo from a security camera footage, July 25, 2024.

According to the investigation, Chinh used different accounts on Facebook and TikTok to recruit 20 young men in his hometown in Thai Binh Province and the bordering province of Ha Nam.

He gathered them on the night of July 25. The group then traveled on 10 motorbikes, bringing along iron tubes, swords, and empty glass bottles, and moved from Hung Ha District of Thai Binh to Hung Yen Province.

They targeted every motorcyclist with license plates starting with "89," meaning the vehicle is registered in Hung Yen.

They used a sword to chop down the plates and posted the video on social media.

Around 11 p.m. that night, when arriving in Hung Yen's Tien Lu District, the group approached a man named Doan and repeated the behavior.

However, the altercation caused Doan to fall off his motorbike, suffering a broken left arm.

Police eventually tracked down the gang and arrested Chinh.