HCMC prosecutors reject $400,000 bail for internet mudslinger

The HCMC People's Procuracy said Thursday that police will continue investigating Hang, 51, general director of Dai Nam Joint Stock Company in southern Binh Duong Province for "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens."

Hang was arrested by Ho Chi Minh City police in late March.

Her son, Nguyen Quang Tuan, late last month offered to pay VND10 billion to get his mother out of custody, citing a Ministry of Public Security circulation issued in 2018 allowing a person to be bailed out with money.

He argued that Hang could provide a specific and clear residence address, that this was the first time she had committed a crime, and that she had a good citizen’s record as she had been publicly praised by different state agencies on different occasions for her charitable activities.

Ever since she was arrested, his mother has cooperated with investigators and is well aware of her violations and committed not to repeat them, said Tuan.

So far, prosecutors have yet to state the reason for rejecting Tuan’s proposal while he said he has not received any notices from either police or the prosecutors on whether they would agree to release his mother on bail.

Hang, born Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, is known for being ostentatious, not hesitant to flaunt her riches. She and her husband, Huynh Uy Dung, former general director of the Dai Nam company, are both famous for their lavish lifestyles and philanthropy.

More than a year ago, she stormed the online community with a live-streamed, most watched expose of several celebrities on her Facebook page. The hours-long videos attracted hundreds of thousands of views each, some of which criticized celebrities for not being transparent about charity money collected from others.

A video on May 25 last year, attracting around 300,000 viewers, mentioned rumors about HCMC-based comedian Hoai Linh and the VND13.4 billion ($581,742) he raised to support flood victims in the central region in October 2020. She said he had done nothing to distribute the money after six months.

In other videos, she said actress Hong Van used foul language when mentioning her fans, while singer Vy Oanh had earned a huge amount of money after having a child with a rich man. Singer Dam Vinh Hung had not been transparent in distributing money he collected from others, while Vo Hoang Yen was a conman cheating people of their money by promising to cure them, Hang said.

Since mid-February this year, police met with her on four occasions to warn her against the live-streaming, but she ignored them and ended up being arrested.