Group receives 48-year jail term over fake ATM cards
Four days into the first instance trial, the People’s Court in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre gave Malaysian national Chong Ngai Fong and his six accomplices a total of 48 years in prison for their fraudulent activities using fake ATM cards.
Ben Tre (VNA) – Four days into the firstinstance trial, the People’s Court in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre gaveMalaysian national Chong Ngai Fong and his six accomplices a total of 48 yearsin prison for their fraudulent activities using fake ATM cards.
The court ruled that the defendants were to be imprisonedfor the appropriation of property using electronic device in line with Point a,Clause 4, Article 290 under the 2015 Penal Code.
According to the court’s decision, Chong Ngai Fong (44) wassentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment. Jo Pham (48, a US national) and David TeeCheng Meng (30, from Malaysia) each got nine years in jail. Nguyen Kim Soan (21,residing in Bac Lieu province), and Tran The Bao and Nguyen Van Hien (26 and 22,both from Ben Tre) each received a seven year sentence. Meanwhile, Chua YaThiam (45, from Singapore) ended up with just two years.
They all have to hand over more than 1.7 billion VND (72,896USD) as compensation to branches of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and RuralDevelopment (Agribank) in Can Tho city, Ben Tre, Vinh Long, and Ca Mauprovinces, and Phu Nhuan district in Ho Chi Minh City.
Following their jail terms, Chong Ngai Fong, Jo Pham, DavidTee Cheng Meng, and Chua Ya Thiam will be deported from Vietnam.
According to the indictment of the Ben Tre People’sProcuracy, between November 2017 and March 5, 2018, the group’s mastermind Chongcollaborated with Jo Pham, David Tee Cheng Meng, Bao, Hien, and Soan, taking itin turns to install electronic devices that stole information of hundreds ofaccounts at several ATMs run by Agribank branches. Using these accounts, theymade fake ATM cards and withdrew over 1.7 billion VND.
On January 24, 2018, Ben Tre police received reports fromdifferent banks on 38 card holders, who lost a total of 998 million VND (42,778USD). Their money was stolen by criminals with highly technological skills. Theinvestigation led to a group of seven, residing in different areas but workingtogether to produce fake ATM cards.
On March 5, 2018, the police organised a raid tohunt down Bao and Soan, whose confessions helped to capture the remainingmembers of the gang. –VNA
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At the trial (Photo: VNA) 
