Illustrative image. Internet.
On June 29, the People’s Procuracy of Ia Grai district, Gia Lai province, announced the prosecution of 10 defendants for “Gambling Organization” and “Gambling.”
At 2:30 pm on October 1, 2024, the Ia Grai District Police (formerly) raided the home of Than Thi Hoang Thu (born 1978, residing in Jut 2 village, Ia Der commune, Ia Grai district) and caught her red-handed with nine other female participants in a gambling session.
During the raid, the police confiscated 42 million VND and other gambling paraphernalia. Notably, they also seized 10.4 million VND from Nguyen Thi Hang (born 1983), who was then the Head of Area I at PJICO Gia Lai Insurance Company.
According to the defendants’ statements, after a meal earlier that day at around 12:30 pm, they conceived the idea of gambling to make extra money for their personal expenses and entertainment. Thu purchased two decks of playing cards and set up a gambling session at her house, with each person taking turns as the dealer. Each bet ranged from 50,000 to 300,000 VND. After six rounds, the dealer had to pay 50,000 VND as a “fee” to Thu, placed in a plastic box under the gambling mat.
The investigation revealed that Thu brought over 5.6 million VND for gambling, while the other participants contributed between 2.3 and 7.4 million VND. Notably, Hang possessed the most substantial amount, 23.7 million VND, but only gambled with 13.3 million VND.
It is worth mentioning that defendant Hang has been an insurance specialist at PJICO Gia Lai since 2016. In 2022, she was appointed as the Head of Area I, a position she held until the time of this incident.
