The owner of a 1949 Italian Lambretta Special motorbike says he’s been duped out of US$50,000 after attempting to sell the iconic vehicle.
Nguyen Dat Duc owned the famous bike for 20 years, during which time 499 high-profile individuals signed it. The motorcycle has even been recognized in Vietnam’s national book of records.
Last in 2009 Mr. Duc decided to sell the iconic bike in order to realize his long-standing dream of building a Vietnamese cinema museum in the south-central province of Binh Thuan.
But the buyer he eventually found has not paid the full amount as originally promised, while Mr. Duc has already pre-paid a contractor to build the museum.
When he first advertised that he was selling the motorbike, Mr. Duc said several people made offers. One overseas Vietnamese buyer even offered him $90,000 for the vehicle.
In the end, however, Mr. Duc agreed to sell the bike to Vo Minh Tung, the general director of the Do Thi Viet Nam A Company in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Tung offered to pay just $80,000, but said he would in turn auction off the motorbike for charity.
In a contract signed in August 2009, the two sides agreed that the buyer would pay $30,000 up front, and the remaining $50,000 would be paid after the motorbike was delivered to Mr. Tung.
But on the day the motorbike was delivered, Mr. Tung said he was suffering financial difficulties and promised to pay the remaining money after he had coordinated with the HCMC Red Cross Association to auction off the vehicle for charity.
However, the motorbike was not found being put up for auction through the association.
Mr. Tung then said he would pay in full by December 15, 2009.
But the final payment date came and went and Mr. Tung and the deputy director of Do Thi Viet Nam A Company announced they did not have the rest of the money owed to Mr. Duc.
Mr. Tung assured Mr. Duc that he would pay the remaining amount sometime in the next six months.
Mr. Tung and his deputy director said they had instead presented the bike to the Que Huong Charity Center in HCMC’s neighboring province of Binh Duong.
After failing to pay Mr. Duc, Mr. Tung then asked the Que Huong Charity Center to borrow around $34,000 and promised to pay it back within a month.
Huynh Tieu Huong, director of the center, said she had read in the media that Mr. Tung had spent $80,000 for the motorbike, and thus did not hesitate to lend him the money, believing he could easily repay it.
But just like Mr. Duc, the charity center has yet to see any of its money as promised.
Ms. Huong said that Mr. Tung is now denying ever borrowing the funds, despite the fact that the center has documentation of the transaction.
Mr. Duc and the Que Huong Charity Center are now hoping that authorities will take action and help them retrieve their money.
