In recent years, a crime group has taken advantage of Da Nang’s policy for selling apartments for low-income earners, and people's lack of understanding and credulity to defraud them of their money.

In an effort to smash this criminal ring, an investigation police group with the code name No 912L was established in September 2012.  After nearly one month of their investigation, the police arrested 46-year-old Nguyen Thanh Chau from Son Tra District’s An Hai Bac Ward. 

According to the initial police investigation, Chau fraudulently obtained a total of over 1 billion VND from 94 victims when he was helping them to find apartments for low-income earners between March 2011 and June 2012.

Nguyen Thanh Quang (left) with a policeman

Chau confessed that on February 2011 he met 37-year-old Nguyen Thanh Quang from Lien Chieu District.  He declared that Quang offered to help him seek apartments for those in need of housing, and who were living in Son Tra District’s Vung Thung Ward and Lien Chieu District’s Hoa Minh Ward.

After further investigations, the police have now gathered enough evidence to prosecute Quang for “defrauding money and appropriating property” under Article 139 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.

Last Friday, Quang was temporarily detained for 3 months on the above-mentioned charge by the city’s police.

The investigation of the case continues.