Two Vietnamese-American girls saved after being kidnapped for ransom

Six-year-old T.H.B.N. and eight-year-old T.H.M.A. pose in a photo provided by the family.

Officers under the police department in District 11 saved six-year-old T.H.B.N. and eight-year-old T.H.M.A. on March 10.

Their father, 45-year-old Tran Hoang, reported their abduction to police officers on March 7.

The two girls are studying at an international school in the city, according to the family.

Footage from the school’s security cameras showed that Lam Thi Phuong Dung, 15, who is the housekeeper, picked up the two children at their school on March 7.

Phuong then walked them towards a strange man, who later carried the girls on his motorcycle to an unknown location.

About an hour later, T.T.C., Hoang’s mother, received a text message from a strange number via Viber, which said that they were holding her two granddaughters.

The abductors told the family to prepare their money and not to call the police, or the two girl’s lives would be harmed.

At 2:00 pm on March 9, they kidnappers sent a second message, asserting that the ransom worth US$50,000 must be delivered at an area near the Dau Tieng Rubber Company in southern province of Binh Duong.

Truong Huong is held at the police station in Ho Chi Minh City in the photo supplied by officers.

The rescue

Based on the initial information, officers started probing Dung’s relationship with multiple people, and dispatched units to various locations in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as in Binh Duong and the southern province of Tra Vinh for verification.

Following relentless efforts, investigators were able to determine where the girls were held.

They carried out a raid on a tenanted house in Binh Tan District on March 9, where the two children were staying with Dung.

The victims were still in good health conditions but did not seem to be as active as they normally are.

Thanks to Dung’s statements, officers apprehended Truong Huong, a 58-year-old Vietnamese- American woman who is also one of Hoang’s best friends.

Huong refused to answer any of the officers’ questions and demanded the presence of a consular representative.

Police have also arrested a relative of the young girls for allegedly being involved in the kidnap.

Further investigation is ongoing.