CAN THO, Vietnam (NV) – A 27-year-old woman was recently sentenced by the Can Tho City Court to return 2.9 billion VND ($118,150) to a “tycoon” for buying a BMW car that she said was a “gift.”
VNExpress newspaper reported this news on September 15 but hid the identities of both the plaintiff and the defendant.
The news article abbreviated the girl’s name as Linh, 27 years old, and the “tycoon” as Mr. Vuong, 54 years old, general director of a real estate company.
The court’s ruling required “freezing of assets” of Ms. Linh, which is her BMW.
In the lawsuit, Mr. Vuong stated that he “had a friendly relationship” with Ms. Linh.
Last April, she asked him to borrow 2.9 billion VND, interest-free, to “help with the family business.”
When asking to borrow, Ms. Linh promised that whenever Mr. Vuong needed the money back, she would arrange to pay it back immediately.
However, after many times of debt collection, Ms. Linh only agreed to pay this man 495 million VND ($20,167).
Mr. Vuong sued the girl for the remaining money.
At the trial, Ms. Linh stated that she and Mr. Vuong used to live together as husband and wife.
In early 2019, she was recruited to work at Mr. Vuong’s company, where he told her that he was “divorced from his wife and single.”
The two lived together in a house rented by Mr. Vuong in Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho.
In July 2020, Mr. Vuong asked Ms. Linh to stay home and help her family with business, and he would provide her with spending money.
The two continued their relationship, occasionally traveling with the girl’s family.
In March 2022, Ms. Linh discovered that Mr. Vuong was having an affair with another woman, so she decided to break up with him.
A year later, after Mr. Vuong’s repeated begging, Ms. Linh agreed to move back in with him.
Ms. Linh was promised a BMW car by Mr. Vuong as a “late birthday present.” The money for the car was transferred to her account by him to pay according to the contract with the car dealership.
In June last year, the girl discovered that Mr. Vuong had not divorced and was still in a relationship with a “third person”, so she decided to break up again.
Regarding the relationship between the two, Ms. Linh cited that from March 2020 to May 2022, Mr. Vuong transferred money to her account nine times for her to spend, totaling 200 million VND ($8,148). Many transactions at that time had the following content: “For my love,” “congratulations on gaining 2 kg,” “March 8 gift, my love”…
The girl confirmed that the 2.9 billion VND was given by Mr. Vuong to buy a car and provide for them while they were living together again, not money she borrowed.
The above verdict was announced after the Trial Council concluded that it was impossible to base on the evidence of the transfer transaction provided by Ms. Linh to infer that Mr. Vuong gave her money.
(According to Nguoi Viet)