Appeal trial against beauty queen adjourned due to plaintiff's health problems

The 2021 Miss Grand International Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien. Photo from Tien's Instagram

Businesswoman Dang Thuy Trang told NgoiSao that she sent a letter to the HCMC People’s Court asking it to adjourn the appeal trial of the lawsuit she filed against the beauty queen, which was initially scheduled to take place on Monday.

The trial is thus rescheduled to November 7.

Trang filed a lawsuit against Tien in November 2022.

She claimed that Tien had asked to borrow VND1.5 billion from her in June 2017 and promised to pay back in one year. The borrowed money was spent on the preparation for Tien’s appearance in the 2017 Miss Southern Vietnam contest.

According to her, Tien had signed a promissory note stating that she had received money from her. However, when the promissory note expired, Tien did not repay the money as promised, Trang claimed.

Trang also accused Tien of slandering her reputation by telling the press that Trang had forced her to sign the promissory note without giving her the money and that Trang had lured potential beauty pageants’ contestants to sign loan contracts with her.

Trang consequently demanded the court to order Tien to pay a total amount of VND2.4 billion (US$98,000), including VND1.5 billion for the money Tien allegedly owed her, VND932 million for compensation for loss of earnings, and VND14.9 million for compensation for harmed reputation. On top of that, she demanded Tien to admit to providing false information about her to the media, and to issue a public apology in three different newspapers.

The court denied all of Trang’s claims in the case’s first trial on May 31. It said Trang had "no concrete evidence" proving that Tien really owed money to her.

Regarding Trang’s demands for a clarification of false information and a public apology from Tien, the court said they are "ungrounded."

Nguyen Cong Phu, Trang’s legal representative, subsequently filed an appeal.

Tien, 24, was crowned the 2021 Miss Grand International in Bangkok, becoming the first Vietnamese national to win the beauty pageant. After the contest, she became known for her charity projects and other volunteering activities.