3 Chinese nationals jailed 11-19 years for killing taxi driver, stealing cab in Vietnam

The Quang Ngai People’s Court on Thursday held the first-instance trial for Huang Jie Cheng, 19, Gan Ying, 18, and Luo Shen Jun, 17, all from Guangxi, China.

The three were convicted of murder and robbery.

Huang received 19 years in prison, Luo 13 years, and Gan 11 years.

According to the indictment, on July 26, 2024, the three entered Vietnam illegally through Quang Ninh Province, following instructions from a man known only as A Yang, whom they had met online while seeking jobs.

Early the next morning, they hired a taxi driven by Nguyen Van H., 47, also from Quang Ninh, and began traveling south.

During the trip, Luo noticed that the vehicle’s GPS navigation system was set for Cambodia.

Fearing they could be trafficked across the border, the group decided to return to China.

Unable to contact A Yang, they devised a plan to assault the driver, steal the vehicle, and head north on their own.

They prepared a shirt and a power bank as weapons.

Around 7:00 pm, as H. continued driving after a dinner stop, the group put their plan into action.

They used the shirt to strangle him and struck his head with the power bank, rendering him unconscious.

They then left him on a deserted road, where he died from his injuries.

The trio took more than VND3.5 million (US$132) and 100 Chinese yuan ($14) from the victim and discarded his mobile phones to avoid being tracked.

As they attempted to flee north in the stolen taxi, they ignored a police order to stop in Quang Binh Province but were eventually chased down and arrested.

The court found the crime particularly serious and stated that it should be strictly punished.

After reviewing the case files, testimonies, prosecution and defense arguments, as well as aggravating and mitigating circumstances and the legal provisions applicable to juvenile offenders, the trial panel handed down the aforementioned sentences.