After a two-day hunt, police in the southern province of Binh Duong have arrested six persons on May 8, suspected of involvement in a gruesome murder.
The funeral ceremony of the young director, Phan Van Lan, at his house in Binh Duong Province
As the police were preparing to prosecute the six persons, Phan Tan Thanh, 32, the suspected mastermind of the murder plot escaped the police net.
Phan Tan Thanh is suspected to have murdered Phan Van Lan, 40, the owner of a local Lan Thao private company at Dinh Hoa ward in Thu Dau Mot town of Binh Duong province.
According to Lan’s wife, in September 2009 Lan sold 3,000 square meters of land in Thu Dau Mot Town to Phan Tan Thanh for VND3 billion (US$145,600). Thanh paid Lan VND2 billion as deposit but later changed his mind. Thanh told Lan that he didn’t want to buy the land any more and asked Lan to give back his deposit money.
According to their contract, Lan was not obliged to return the deposit if Thanh terminated the deal. Nevertheless, Lan still gave back VND1.5 billion taking into account their close relationship and promised to pay the remainder at a later date as presently he had some financial problems.
Thanh however persisted and kept asking Lan for the remaining balance amount of VND500 million ($24,300).
Thanh then took 15-armed men to Lan’s company that traded in roof tiles and construction steel products. The men came in two cars and two motorbikes on May 6 and smashed equipment in the company premises.
When Lan was informed of this incident he rushed to the site. As soon as Lan arrived, one of the gangsters shot him in the chest with a shotgun. Lan died on the spot.
Local police rushed to the scene, arrested some of the attackers and are now hunting for Thanh and others who managed to escape.
