The Ha Noi People’s Court commuted the sentences of four students convicted in a sex scandal concerning teen celebrity Hoang Thuy Linh at a hearing Monday. They will receive probation instead of prison.
Nguyen Huu Tai, 24, a student at FPT University, was previously sentenced to 30 months and Nguyen Thu Linh, 22, a student at the London-Ha Noi Fashion Training Center, was previously sentenced to 20 months. The two others, Vo Thanh Hiep, 26, a student at FPT-Arena, and Vu Thi Thuy Linh, 22, a student at Thang Long University, were both previously sentenced to 24 months.All four were convicted of illegally distributing a sex tape of Linh via the Internet. They broke the law because they were curious about the tape and because they also lacked knowledge of the law, not because they wanted to make a profit from the tape, according to a statement issued by the judges Monday.Moreover, these four young people had good records. After considering all these factors, the judges commuted their sentences to probation instead of imprisonment. Moreover, the jury will deduct 10 days from their probation period as they have already spent 10 days in custody.The tape of the of actress Linh having sex with Vu Hoang Viet, then her boyfriend, was depraved and had a bad impact on the younger generation, the judges stated.Linh, formally star of Vang Anh Diary, a television series for teens, appeared in the sex tape, which was released on the Internet on October 11. Two weeks later, the police determined that the four students obtained the video file from Viet’s laptop and then put it on the net.
