Three Vietnamese accomplices were also sentenced on the same charge of “kidnapping for the purpose of property appropriation.”

Tran Phan Vu Thanh, 36, from An Giang, received 16 years. Nguyen Khanh Vi, 25, also from An Giang, was sentenced to 15 years, and Duong Thuy Ai, 31, likewise from An Giang, received a 12-year sentence.

According to the indictment, in early December 2023, Zhao Xin and Thanh plotted to kidnap a wealthy Chinese national living in what was then Binh Duong province.

Their target was Zhou Gao Ming, director of a company based in the Tan Binh Industrial Park.

On the evening of December 20, 2023, the group followed Mr. Ming’s car after he left a restaurant. Thanh posed as a police officer and stopped the vehicle under the pretext of conducting a sobriety test. He then used a stun gun to overpower the victim.

The group transported Mr. Ming to a warehouse rented by Ai, where he was held captive.

They forced him to call his coworkers and demand they bring 4.5 billion VND (approximately 185,000 USD) in ransom for his release.

After being alerted, Binh Duong provincial police worked with the victim’s family to devise a rescue plan.

On the afternoon of December 21, Zhao Xin instructed the victim’s family to drop the ransom money at an abandoned residential area. When Zhao arrived to retrieve the money, he was caught red-handed by law enforcement.

Thanh Phuong