4 arrested after Chinese gambler allegedly kidnapped, beaten over $44,0000 debt in Vietnam

The case came to light in the early hours of October 21 when police received a report from a Chinese woman identified as L.W.

She told authorities that her 45-year-old Chinese boyfriend, W.B., had been held captive and beaten by a group of people over a gambling debt.

Police launched an immediate search operation and later located W.B. walking on a street in Ngu Hanh Son Ward.

He was brought in for questioning and provided details of his ordeal.

According to investigators, W.B. had borrowed 300,000 Chinese yuan ($44,000) from a Chinese man identified as Shi Guiming to gamble at a casino but lost all the money.

Unable to repay the debt, he was allegedly seized by a group of Chinese and Vietnamese people, taken to several locations, and beaten to force him to pay.

Based on the victim’s account and their investigation, police arrested four suspects, including Shi Guiming and Wang Bing, both Chinese nationals; Nguyen Van My, 23, from Da Nang; and Tran Tien Dung, 21, from Quang Tri Province in north-central Vietnam.

Investigators determined that on October 12, W.B. and his girlfriend, L.W., went to a casino to gamble and lost all their money.

Through an acquaintance, W.B. was introduced to Shi Guiming and borrowed more money to continue gambling.

Shi agreed to lend him 300,000 Chinese yuan.

Instead of providing cash, Shi Guiming gave W.B. casino chips of equivalent value, requiring him to sign a debt note for $44,000 and hand over his passport as collateral.

After losing the borrowed money, W.B. was told to leave the casino and meet Shi Guiming to discuss repayment.

Shi Guiming and Tran Tien Dung then drove W.B. to an apartment.

During the trip, Shi Guiming demanded that W.B. hand over his phone and told him he would not be allowed to leave until the debt was fully repaid.

The group allegedly kept W.B. under guard and prevented him from leaving freely.

On October 15, 17 and 19, the suspects took him to several other locations, where Nguyen Van My and Tran Tien Dung took turns guarding him, while Shi Guiming repeatedly used a leather belt and Wang Bing punched him in the head and back to demand repayment.

Shi Guiming also made several video calls to L.W., showing her the assaults on her boyfriend to intimidate her into paying.

Fearing for her boyfriend’s life, L.W. transferred 42,000 Chinese yuan ($6,300) to Shi Guiming.

W.B. also asked his friend in China to send Shi Guiming another 5,000 Chinese yuan ($750).

On the evening of October 20, W.B. escaped from the apartment when his captors let their guard down.