Da Nang: Douyin Idol "gets 2.5 years in jail" for helping Chinese boss illegally live in Vietnam

Through being an idol on the social network Douyin (Chinese TikTok), Nguyen Thuy Duong met Zheng Ren Gui and then assisted him in breaking the law. As a result, Duong received 2 years and 6 months in prison.

On November 21, the People's Court of Da Nang City opened a trial for Huynh Nguyen Thuy Duong (25 years old, residing in Thuan Phuoc ward, Hai Chau district, Da Nang city) for the crime of "organizing for others to stay in Vietnam illegally".

According to the indictment, Zheng Ren Gui (40 years old, Chinese nationality) entered Vietnam from Cambodia through Moc Bai International Border Gate, Tay Ninh on April 13, 2022 and was granted a 3-month DN1 visa sponsored by Luguo Real Estate Company Limited.

After arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, Zheng Ren Gui stayed in many different places. When his visa expired, he tried to extend it but was unsuccessful. Through some friends, Zheng Ren Gui met Huynh Nguyen Thuy Duong (a Chinese interpreter). Seeing that she had a pretty face, he hired her to work for him on the Douyin application (a version of Tiktok in the domestic Chinese market).

Thuy Duong's main job is to livestream , sing, dance and create viral clips on Douyin; in a short time, the girl became an idol on this social network. When the posted content becomes a trend, Zheng Ren Gui's Douyin account receives bonuses from users in the form of gifts, from which money is sent to his Chinese bank account.

Next, the man used a currency exchange service in Vietnam to convert Chinese yuan into Vietnamese dong to pay his employees' salaries and asked Duong to find a company to sponsor him to extend his visa, but she was unable to do so. Around February 2023, Zheng Ren Gui asked Duong to rent a house in Da Nang to move from Ho Chi Minh City to live and work.

Even though he knew that Zheng Ren Gui's visa had expired and he was staying in Vietnam illegally, the 25-year-old idol still agreed to find a house, sign a lease and receive a salary of 20 million VND.

Duong started contacting Mr. Quach Man Trung (53 years old, residing in Hai Chau district, Da Nang city) to rent house number 11 Truong Dang Que (Hoa Hai ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang city) for 2 years at the price of 45 million VND/month, payment method 3 months/time.

When renting the house, she lied to Mr. Trung that she was staying with two Vietnamese friends, did not provide any information about Zheng Ren Gui, and did not declare her temporary residence as required by law.

Since March 2023, Zheng Ren Gui, Le Thi Thuy Tram (living in Song Binh village, Dai Quang commune, Dai Loc district, Quang Nam) and Nguyen Thi Le Nhi (both 24 years old, living in Van Duong village, Hoa Lien commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city) moved into this house. He hired 2 girls to do the same job as Duong on Douyin with a salary of 10 - 12 million VND/month.

When he needed to fix electricity, water, or pay rent, Zheng Ren Gui contacted Duong to handle it. In July 2023, the Chinese man asked his friend in Thailand to make a fake passport for 334 million VND to use to extend his visa in Vietnam. At the same time, he provided his friend with fake information to put in the passport, then gave Duong 10 million VND so she could go to Pattaya (Thailand) to receive the fake passport.

However, when it reached Zheng Ren Gui, he found that the fake passport was of poor quality and could be easily detected, so he asked Duong to return it to his friend in Thailand by post. In total, the man transferred nearly 600 million VND to Duong in 2023 to handle work and pay expenses, and the remaining profit was nearly 40 million VND.

At the end of the trial, the People's Court of Da Nang City sentenced Huynh Nguyen Thuy Duong to 2 years and 6 months in prison for "organizing for others to stay in Vietnam illegally" and continued to collect the remaining amount of more than 20 million VND that the defendant illegally earned. Regarding Zheng Ren Gui, the police agency is currently continuing to expand the investigation and handling.

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