VIETNAM: THREE TAIWANESE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

June 25, 2023:

Three Taiwanese were sentenced to death in Ho Chi Minh City on June 22, 2023 for trafficking some 480 kg of drugs.
Huang Yen Sheng, 25, Kuo Yi Hao, 33, and Yeh Chen Chia, 26 were convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court.
All three admitted to their crimes.
While Sheng accepted the death sentence, Hao and Chia said the drugs they trafficked had yet to be used by Vietnamese, and thus they wished for a chance to live and rectify their mistakes.
Prosecutors said Sheng was introduced to 30-year-old Tuan Huu, a fellow Taiwanese, at a restaurant and was invited to come to Vietnam to participate in the drug trafficking. In November 2020, Sheng traveled to Cambodia and entered Vietnam through a land border.
In January 2021, Huu had someone transport an engine with 30 kg of drugs hidden inside to a warehouse in HCMC. Huu then told Sheng to transport the drugs to Hanoi.
Under Huu's instructions, Sheng divided the drugs into small 100-gram packages. Huu then had someone bring pig stomachs to Sheng so the drugs could be hidden inside them. The stomachs were packaged and transported along with frozen meat to the northern border province of Cao Bang. Huu paid Sheng NT$50,000 ($1,615) for his work.
A month later, Huu transported another 90 kg of drugs to the same HCMC warehouse for Sheng. After another ordeal was done, Sheng received VND700 million ($29,761).
In March 2021, Huu had someone transport around 180 kg of drugs to a warehouse Nha Be District. This time, he hired both Hao and Sheng to transport the drugs to Hanoi. Sheng managed to deliver 90 kg of drugs to Cao Bang, while the rest of the drugs were kept in storage.
In May 2021, Huu had someone bring 180 kg of drugs to the warehouse in Nha Be District. Under Huu's instruction, Sheng and Hao divided 30 kg of the drugs into three boxes and prepared to deliver them to Chia.
On May 19, 2021, Chia hired Grab driver Le Huu Tai to bring him to a destination to receive the drugs. After receiving the drugs from Sheng and Ha, Chia left the drugs in the vehicle, then had a driver bring him to get dinner with friends.
Tai suspected that something illegal was being delivered, so he reported the matter to the police. The police then found a large amount of drugs in boxes in Tai's trunk. A search revealed 150 kg of drugs were still being stored in the Nha Be warehouse.
Dozens of kilograms of drugs were later seized at Sheng and Hao's apartments, along with 90 kg of drugs in a warehouse in Hanoi. In total, from January to May 2021, Sheng and his accomplices transported over 479 kg of drugs.
Huu has not been arrested.