Four Vietnamese men have been indicted by the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly kidnapping and assaulting one of their compatriots in Taiwan last year as part of a ransom plot, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said Wednesday.

According to the agency’s Changhua County Service Center, a Vietnamese migrant worker surnamed Nguyen (?) was taken by force in Changhua County to a residence near Tsengwen Reservoir in Tainan on May 27, 2021 by a fellow Vietnamese man surnamed Vu (?) and his suspected accomplices.

Nguyen was then detained in the residence and physically assaulted by the suspects using aluminum sticks, metal chains, and BB guns, the NIA unit said in a statement.

The suspects then sent images of Nguyen being beaten up to his family in Vietnam via the messaging application LINE, asking for 230 million dong (US$10,034) in exchange for Nguyen’s release.

Chen Ting-fu (???), deputy chief of the NIA unit, told reporters Wednesday that after Nguyen’s family remitted the ransom money to the kidnappers, Nguyen was released on June 2.

After his release, Nguyen reported the case to the NIA, Chen said.

Led by the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office, a special team composed of NIA officials, high-tech crime investigators, and police was formed to investigate the case, according to the NIA statement.

The team conducted searches of locations in Miaoli, Yunlin, and Chiayi counties, as well as Tainan, collecting evidence that led to the arrest of four suspects, including Vu, and the seizure of 3.2 grams of amphetamine and a BB gun from Vu’s residence in Tainan, the NIA said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel