Defendant Pham Thi Ngoc.
According to the indictment, in early 2022, Ms. Dinh Thi Cam Linh contributed capital with Nguyen Van Khon to register for a land use right certificate in Bai Thom commune, Phu Quoc special economic zone, covering an area of 17 hectares, at a cost of approximately 5.5 billion VND (of which Linh contributed 3.9 billion VND).
The plot of land in question was purchased by Khon from someone else and it falls within the area of special-use forest land managed by Phu Quoc National Park. Ngoc knew that requesting the authorities to relocate the forest boundary from the land for Khon was impossible, but she still agreed, asking Khon to give her the land ownership certificate and a handwritten land sale agreement so that she could proceed with the application to relocate the land boundary.
To gain trust, Ngoc used forged documents including reports and official letters bearing the names of the Provincial Forestry Department and Phu Quoc National Park, confirming that Khon's land plot was not located in a state-managed forest area. Believing these documents, Khon transferred a total of approximately 5.9 billion VND to Ngoc on several occasions.
In September 2022, when Khon took the documents to the Provincial Forest Protection Department and Phu Quoc National Park for verification, he was informed that these agencies had not issued the aforementioned documents. Khon then reported the incident to the police.
During the investigation, Ngoc confessed that the two documents were fake and claimed they were provided by Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, former Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Kien Giang province (formerly). Ngoc stated that she had transferred all the money received from Khon to Mr. Dung. However, the investigating agency determined that Mr. Dung had passed away due to illness on July 30, 2022.
After the incident was discovered, Ngoc compensated the victim with 130 million VND. On August 5, 2025, the defendant was charged and is under investigation.
Previously, on March 12, 2025, Ngoc was sentenced by the People's Court of Kien Giang Province (now An Giang Province) to 9 years in prison for fraud and misappropriation of property, and for using forged seals and documents of agencies and organizations. Since this sentence had not yet been served, the court decided to combine the previous sentence with the newly pronounced 15-year prison sentence, requiring Ngoc to serve a total of 24 years in prison.
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/linh-an-24-nam-tu-vi-lua-dao-chay-ranh-dat-rung-a490200.html
