The People’s Court of Hanoi on March 14 sentenced three Chinese men, all from Jiangxi province, to up to 42 months in prison for using fake bank cards to steal cash from ATMs.

Zhu Hai Rong, 41, received 42 months while Qiu Shui Bing, 42, and Zhong Jian Hua, 38, got 36 months each on charges of “using computer, telecommunication and internet networks to appropriate property,” pursuant to Article 226b of the Penal Code.

The gang withdrew nearly 90 million VND (3,960 USD) from several ATMs in downtown Hanoi before they were apprehended on April 23 last year.

The police discovered that they learned how to steal money from ATMs from another Chinese national, who provided them with 110 counterfeit bank cards and promised to pay them 5,000 CNY (792 USD) each if the scam was successful.

The three men arrived in Hanoi on March 22 and made several successful withdrawals before being caught by police on April 23.

Zhong was arrested while attempting to conduct transactions at an ATM of HSBC in Le Thai To Street, Hang Trong Ward. Zhu and Qiu were caught shortly after.

The security of payment systems has been a cause for public concern as ATM networks in Hanoi have been targeted on several occasions.

In 2016, the People’s Court of Hanoi also gave prison sentences to two Chinese men, Zhong Dong Ming and Hu Li Guo, from Guangxi on the same charges. 

The two men entered Vietnam on April 17, 2016. Zhong then used nine out of his 173 fake cards to withdraw money from ATMs of BIDV on Lang Ha Street, Thanh Cong ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi. 

They successfully conducted 33 transactions, worth 64.4 million VND (2,833 USD) before being caught by police.-VNA