Over the past years, in Thanh Hoa province, there have been a series of hui collapses. Although the authorities have repeatedly warned, many people still do not consider this a lesson and continue to rush into the vortex of the "hui ghost". The "blood and bone" money that a part of the people have saved for a long time suddenly disappeared, causing hundreds of families to be broken, leaving unpredictable consequences.
Under the scorching sun of May days, Dien Ly village, Dien Lu commune (Ba Thuoc) became even more sultry and gloomy after the incident of the hui owner Pham Thi L. jumping into the river to commit suicide, causing shock to the entire poor countryside. Accordingly, on the morning of May 18, 2023, local people discovered the motorbike and sandals of Ms. Pham Thi L. left on the dike of the Ma River. After searching, people discovered Ms. L.'s body in the reservoir of Ba Thuoc 2 hydropower plant. Upon receiving the report, Ba Thuoc district police and functional forces promptly arrived to conduct a crime scene investigation, autopsy, and investigation. Initially, it was determined that Ms. L. died from jumping into the river to commit suicide. The cause was presumed to be a broken hui.
According to information from Ba Thuoc District Police, Ms. Pham Thi L. is the owner of 7 hui chains, of which 4 chains have been paid off, and 3 chains are about to be paid off. The amount of money in these 3 chains is about several hundred million VND, the number of hui members affected is about 55 people. Because Ms. L. has died, up to now, no hui member has filed a complaint to the local authorities about the amount of money they have lost.
Also in Dien Ly village, Dien Lu commune, in early July 2022, a hui collapse occurred, shocking the whole commune and district, causing 104 "hui members" to be in a state of broken homes, some of whom had to be hospitalized for emergency treatment. According to information from the People's Committee of Dien Lu commune, taking advantage of the trust of the people, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, born in 1976, Dien Ly village, took the lead in the hui, mobilizing capital from 104 people in the village, commune and surrounding areas. The total amount of money Nguyen Thi Minh mobilized was up to more than 20 billion VND; the person who lent cash was at least 19 million VND, the most was 1.4 billion VND. On June 30, 2022, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh announced bankruptcy due to her inability to repay the above amount and "disappeared" from her residence until now.
After Nguyen Thi Minh declared bankruptcy, many people lost their appetite and sleep, falling into a state of misery and debt. A typical example is the family of Mr. Tao Duc Chinh and his wife, Ms. Pham Thi Thanh, about 100m from the house of the hui leader Nguyen Thi Minh. Mr. Chinh has no job, his wife works hard day and night at Dien Lu market, saving every penny to participate in a few hui groups. The goal is to save up some money after 2 years to rebuild the house they are living in because it has seriously deteriorated. Mr. Chinh said: “The family contributed about 1 billion VND to the hui, when it was time to collect the hui, my wife and I ran around to find a date to break ground and build a house. After hearing the news that Ms. Minh declared bankruptcy, my wife and I were stunned, the sky and earth collapsed, we lost our appetite and sleep for a whole year. All the money we had saved for so long is now gone, the house we are living in is degraded, every time it rains, it leaks and floods. My family is really struggling now, my children are still in school age, and I have to take care of my mentally ill brother. I don't know what will happen in the future."
Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, Vice Chairman of Dien Lu Commune People's Committee, said: Playing hui and wards has existed for a long time in the locality. On the positive side, this is a form of contributing capital and accumulating money to support each other in life. However, some people take advantage of playing hui to defraud and appropriate property, causing many families to fall into dire straits. To rectify this situation, in the coming time, the locality will strengthen management and review hui chains at risk of collapsing, hui owners suspected of defrauding and appropriating property or abusing trust to appropriate property to deploy and implement effective preventive solutions, promptly intervene, and effectively resolve hui collapse cases when they first arise, limiting the occurrence of large gatherings of people, disturbing security and order in the locality.
In the same situation as Mr. Chinh, Ms. Hoang Thi Chien, Tran Cau village, Quang Binh commune (Quang Xuong) could not hold back her tears because she felt sorry for the 120 million VND she was at risk of losing when participating in a hui led by Ms. Le Thi Thuy, born in 1979, in Cong Truc village, Quang Binh commune.
Chien said her family is a farmer, working hard all year round, fasting and saving money from rice and potatoes to participate in 3 hui groups, each group receiving 2 million VND. Every time it was time to collect the hui, Chien was delayed by the hui leader, promising this month, next month. Because she trusted Thuy, seeing that she was a gentle person, spoke softly, and her family was well-off, but when Thuy declared bankruptcy, Chien was shocked. Every time she thought about the money she had lost, she could not swallow her food. According to Chien, in the area where she lives, there are many poor people, even the elderly, who have saved money to pay the hui, hoping to have some capital to take care of their families, but now they have all been "stolen" by the hui leader. The incident is truly heartbreaking.
Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Xuan Hung, Captain of the Criminal Police Team (Quang Xuong District Police) said: From July to September 2022, the unit received more than 60 complaints from individuals in the communes of Quang Binh, Quang Khe, Quang Hop, Quang Ninh and Tan Phong town, accusing Ms. Le Thi Thuy, born in 1979, Cong Truc village, Quang Binh commune of appropriating about 8 billion VND in lottery money. Verification showed that since 2020, Thuy has opened lottery chains with 20 participants, each paying 2 million VND in principal. When it comes to receiving the lottery (once a month), if a participant has not yet had their turn to receive it, they will be paid 400,000 VND/month in interest. Conversely, if anyone wants to receive the lottery first, in addition to the principal of 2 million VND, they will have to pay an additional 400,000 VND in interest. Those who want to get it in advance must notify Thuy 1 month in advance and Thuy will arrange it. The payment schedule is set for the 28th day of the lunar month, in cash. However, on June 30, 2022, Ms. Thuy and her family left the area. After determining that there were signs of a crime, the Quang Xuong District Police transferred the case to the Criminal Police Department (Provincial Police) to handle and investigate according to their authority.
After working with local authorities as well as grasping public opinion, the amount of money in the broken hui in Quang Binh commune owned by Le Thi Thuy was much higher and the number of "hui members" could be up to more than 100 people, because there were many different reasons why the victims did not file a complaint or did not report to the authorities.
The above are just 3 of dozens of hui owners in the province who have declared bankruptcy or "taken" the money of the "hui members" and left the locality. A typical example is hui owner Trinh Thi Nh., born in 1972, residing in Tan Thanh residential group, Trieu Son town (Trieu Son), who organized 2 clan chains with 55 members participating, each person contributing 5 million VND/month, the total mobilized capital is 150 million VND/month. With the trick of collecting money from them but not paying the players, up to now, the total amount of money that Nh. has not paid is nearly 7 billion VND. In early 2023, Nh. fled the locality. Or the case of a hui collapse with an amount of up to nearly 14 billion VND, led by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, born in 1958, in zone 4, Yen Cat town (Nhu Xuan). After Ms. Hanh announced that she was unable to pay, it meant that 186 people who participated in the hui with Ms. Hanh lost a total of 13 billion 800 million VND...
It can be affirmed that the recent cases of hui collapse in the province have caused a stir in public opinion, affecting the lives and economy of a part of the people, putting pressure on State management, especially when the hui owner intends to defraud and appropriate money from participants. Many hui collapses have caused very serious consequences, the number of hui collapses and hui snatching cases is up to tens of billions of dong, potentially causing insecurity and disorder in the locality.
Article and photos: Xuan Minh
Lesson 2: Identify signs, symptoms and corrective solutions.
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