Ho Chi Minh City police have unmasked a woman who staged a false kidnapping in which she was ‘held hostage’ by a gang and demanded VND500 million (US$23,700) from her Taiwanese partner as ransom for her release.

>> Taiwanese investigated for allegedly ‘selling’ visas to Vietnamese students The woman, Hoang Nhu Nguyet, 43, was detained on Wednesday at her home on Road 79, Tan Quy Ward, District 7, the district police said. She may be prosecuted on charges of “swindling to appropriate property,” they added. Nguyet’s partner is Chiu Chih Kuan, a 58-year-old Taiwanese man who has cohabited with her for 10 years. The couple has yet to obtain a marriage certificate, though. According to police documents, Chiu reported to the police on April 1 that Nguyet had informed him by telephone she had been kidnapped by a gang which demanded a VND500 million ransom for her release.

Nguyet was quoted by Chiu as saying, “As soon as I got out of a taxi in front of our house gate, a group of unidentified people appeared and attacked me with a handkerchief imbued with anesthetic. When I gained consciousness, I found myself at a cemetery.” Nguyet also told Chiu that if he failed to pay the money to a designated account at a bank, she would be killed. The police launched an investigation and surprisingly found that the account was under Nguyet’s name. On April 2, under instructions from police, Chiu transferred VND200 million ($9,500) into the account. At 7:00 pm the same day, Nguyet suddenly returned home and told her partner that she had managed to escape from the kidnappers. At this moment, police rushed into the house and escorted her to their station for questioning. Nguyet told police that she has lived with the Taiwanese man since 2004. She works at a beauty salon while her partner sells refrigeration products. The woman said she had been burdened with debts caused by gambling and had asked Chiu to give her money to repay them, but he gave her too little. Therefore, she devised the kidnapping scheme to get more money from Chiu. Police now suspect Nguyet may have worked with a conspirator, and thus are continuing their investigation.

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