8 arrested for helping Samoan suspects flee after shooting of 2 Australians in Ho Chi Minh City

They are Nguyen Trong Nghia, 24, a passenger transport driver operating on the Ho Chi Minh City-Tay Ninh route, and seven other Vietnamese nationals.

Lieutenant General Mai Hoang, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security, on Tuesday chaired a press briefing to announce the initial results of a probe into the suspected murder case that occurred on the evening of May 21.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Hung, deputy director of the department and head of the municipal investigative police agency, said that police received a report at 10:10 pm on May 21 of a shooting involving two foreign suspects armed with military-grade weapons outside Cee’f Restaurant at 70 Truong Dinh Street in Ben Thanh Ward.

Immediately after receiving the report, Lieutenant General Hoang ordered criminal police units, task forces, and police in Ben Thanh Ward to secure the scene, assist the victims, and collect evidence.

At the scene, police officers found Australian national Lemalu Lorenzo Tovia, 25, dead after being shot twice.

Another Australian citizen, Sauni Sam, 27, suffered a gunshot wound. He remains in critical condition in hospital.

Investigators also coordinated with units under the Ministry of Public Security and used digital mapping technology at the city’s command information center to track down the gunmen.

Within less than 24 hours, investigators identified the two suspects as Vaa Vaa, a 27-year-old Samoan national alleged to have shot the victims, and Tafia Steve, 23, also from Samoa, who was accused of acting as an accomplice.

Officers were also able to reconstruct the suspects’ movements before and after the shooting.

Despite the pair’s highly professional methods, violent behavior, and use of military-grade weapons, the joint task force captured the two while they were hiding near the Vietnam-Cambodia border less than 72 hours after the killing happened.

The suspects were subsequently escorted to the headquarters of the investigative police agency under the municipal department.

During initial questioning, the two suspects confessed to the crime, claiming they acted under instructions from an individual based overseas.

The two men entered Ho Chi Minh City through Tan Son Nhat International Airport on May 14 and spent several days monitoring the movements of the two victims.

On the evening of May 21, they opened fire with three shots after the victims and their friends had finished dining at Cee’f Restaurant in downtown Ben Thanh Ward.

Based on collected evidence, officers in the southern metropolis issued emergency detention orders against the two Samoans for further investigation on charges of murder.

Police also issued emergency detention orders against Nghia and the seven other Vietnamese nationals suspected of failing to report the crime and assisting the two suspects in their attempt to flee.

Police officers said the investigation is being expanded and that all individuals connected to the case will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.