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Truong Duong at the court yesterday. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Van Viet

Truong Duong, a 40-year-old driver, residing in Di An City, Binh Duong Province tried to contact Lisa Pham, a member of a reactionary organisation abroad to ask for aid while he was in difficulties.

Pham accepted Duong's request and forced him to join the organisation and had to comply with its orders, per the indictment.

On September 29, 2019, Pham asked Duong to go to a grocery store on Thu Dau Mot City's Vo Thanh Long Street, Binh Duong to receive explosives.

At 8:40am the next day Duong put the explosives in the male toilet on the first floor of Binh Duong Tax Department and detonated them following Pham's instructions.

The explosion led to the collapse of walls and damaged many properties and equipment, but did not cause human casualties.

Investigators tracked the clues to find and arrest Duong and also identified that the person who gave the explosives to Duong was a man named Ha Xuan Nghiem, 57, living in Tay Ninh Province. He is currently on the run.

According to the Procuracy of Binh Duong Province, Duong was charged with “terrorist activities against the People’s Government” under Article 113, Clause 2 of 2015 Criminal Code.

The investigation agency also issued a decision to prosecute and pursue Ha Xuan Nghiem.

Duong admitted his guilt at the court and asked for reduced punishment.

At the end of the one-day trial, the provincial People's Court sentenced Duong to 11 years in prison and to pay compensation to the Tax Department of more than VND800 million (US$34,000).

Investigators also determined that the owner of a grocery shop where Duong got the explosives did not know the packages contained explosives, so there was not enough evidence to identify the shop owner as an accomplice. — VNS

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