Vietnam police rescue Chinese businessman kidnapped by compatriot for ransom

Officers in the southern province of Binh Duong said Friday that they tracked down the alleged kidnappers from information from their calls demanding the ransom.

The Chinese kidnapper Zhao Xin, 37, his Vietnamese girlfriend Duong Thuy Ai and another Vietnamese accomplice Nguyen Khanh Vi have admitted to the scheme.

According to the police, Xin entered Vietnam with a tourist visa in July and lived with Ai in Binh Duong. In need of money, he planned with Ai and Vi early this month to look for foreigners living in Binh Duong to kidnap and demand a ransom.

After a period of consideration, they chose to kidnap a Chinese director of an interior design company in the area, investigation found.

Xin and his accomplices, all armed, stopped the man’s car early on Thursday and took him to a local warehouse to hold him there.

They then called the man’s family, demanded VND4.5 billion in exchange for his life. The family accepted their demands and meanwhile called the police.

Xin's group repeatedly called the family on Thursday to demand money and kept changing the location to receive it.

From their calls, the police detected the place where they kept the businessman by the evening. The man was rescued, and the group were arrested the same day.

Police are investigating further.