A Colonel and His Trophies

Colonel insignia in the Vietnamese Police Force. Courtesy of  Wikipedia.

In the early-1990s, Dương Văn Khánh, also known as Khánh "White", was known to be a well-mannered but terrifyingly cruel trùm (the Vietnamese equivalent to a don). Under the guise of CEO of the Porter Association of Đông Xuân market in Hanoi, he commanded approximately 500 "soldiers", all of whom had a long criminal record. What was so terrifying about Khánh was that not only does he gives orders to his henchmen, he also actively participates in criminal activities himself. On the 22nd of May 1996, his gang carried a plan to rob the wealthy residents of 71E and 71D Kim Mã Street. Even though it was a successful operation, Khánh was arrested two days later. During the subsequent interrogations, he gladly admitted to all his crimes petty crimes and his involvement in the robbery on Kim Mã Street. However, when the questions came round to the murder of a person called Đạt (real name Nguyễn Đức Thắng) on 44 Hàng Chiểu Street that was committed earlier and for which he was a suspect, Khánh vehemently denied everything that he was accused of. Because he was very cunning, Khánh understood that his arrest for the robbery on Kim Mã Street was actually of little value because the penalties were "laughable". What the investigators were really after was his confession that he killed Mr. Đạt himself.

Khánh "White". Courtesy of Công An.

Having examined the evidence carefully over and over, the investigators came to the conclusion that the primary suspect Vũ Quốc Dũng - one of Khánh many extremely loyal henchmen - could not have stabbed Mr. Đạt three times: once in the thigh, once in the back and once in the left shoulder (the fatal stab) because Dũng was standing right in front of Mr. Đạt. It had to have been someone else. And not a single investigator doubted Khánh was the perpetrator of the crime because they knew Khánh was left-handed.

But how did they prove Khánh was left-handed? He was very adept at using his right hand to write and also used chopsticks to eat with his right hand. This presented a huge obstacle to overcome. For one month, the investigation was stagnant. Colonel Phạm Văn Tám, Chief of Section 8 in the Ministry of Public Security, observed him closely for every single day of the week and every week of the month. One day he realized Khánh was heavily addicted to cigarettes and had very good reflexes. From then onwards, during each interrogation, the Colonel would light a cigarette to only halfway and blow the smoke in Khánh's face. On the supposed last interrogation before Khánh was released, the Colonel simply asked "Do you smoke?" and Khánh answered as if he had been waiting his whole life to hear this question "Yes, sir!" After smoking several cigarettes, the Colonel threw on at Khánh and the criminal caught it instinctively with his left hand. Colonel Tám smile because he had finally captured an elusive nemesis and asked politely "Tell me again, are you right- or left-handed?" The murderer froze in his chair, his face as white as a corpse, and simply mumbled "So redundant." Thus a cunning, merciless and cruel criminal mastermind in Vietnam was handed the death penalty at last.

In the operation to bring down Năm Cam - the worst and most influential trùm Vietnam has ever seen - Colonel Phạm Văn Tám was tasked with investigating the murder of Mr. Hồ Phước Hưng and Sergeant Phan Lê Sơn of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department at Cẩm Chỉ restaurant in district One on the 27th January 2000. While examining the victims' bodies, the Colonel also called for the arrested criminals in the case to have weapon identification sessions, interrogated them extensively and tested their claims against forensic evidence. The weapons were all large cleavers and machetes so it was not easy to identify which weapon was used by whom and against whom. Without these evidence, it was impossible to catch the "big fish" in the case - Thọ "Captain", a loyal hitman working for Năm Cam. Eventually, Colonel Tám figured out something Thọ has been hiding: a "friendly fire" injury he sustained while carrying out the murders. With this injury and the testimony of Thọ's henchmen, the Colonel and his team were finally able to connect each injury on the victim's bodies to a specific weapon and determined who struck the fatal blows. In the end, instead of being charged with Disturbing the Peace, Thọ and 24 other gang members received six different charges for criminal offense, three of which were the death penalty for Nguyễn Hữu Thịnh, Phạm Văn Minh and Hồ Thanh Tùng.

Thọ "Captain". Courtesy of Việt Báo.

At the end of 1998, Colonel Phạm Văn Tám was assigned the task of investigating the largest heroin trading ring in Vietnam at that time which was led by Nguyễn Đức Lượng. He and his team managed to accomplish their mission in just six months. The main lead in the case was Bùi Hữu Tài, a Most Wanted criminal in Melbourne for kidnapping and murder. February 1998, Tài came back to Vietnam under the name Vũ Mạnh Cường. Colonel Tám caught wind of this and personally searched his residence. Suddenly, a woman named Nguyễn Thị Hoa appeared at the door and after a short conversation, the Colonel had a hunch she was a prime figure in the heroin ring of Nguyễn Đức Lượng. After searching Hoa's home, the Colonel and his team uncovered evidences of a recent drug deal. It turned out Hoa's family has been selling heroin for years and even though she was arrested, the fearless woman was sure that her relatives would get her out.

Nguyễn Đức Lượng. Courtesy of Công An.

Unfortunately for her, Colonel Tám was a man of great integrity and was impossible to bribe. Because she was pregnant, Hoa avoided the death penalty and faced life imprisonment. The Colonel instructed his officers to help her give birth and take care of her newborn child. As he had hoped, the once impenetrable woman softened and helped Colonel Tám bring down Lượng.

As for Tài, he refused to cooperate when arrested and for months, the investigator could not get him to shed light on Lượng's criminal activities. Colonel Tám studied the criminal carefully from his hobbies to his taste in music. He even learned English to occasionally converse with Tài in hope that he would open up when speaking in a language not many of the investigators were fluent in. Slowly but surely, the Colonel won him over. During an interrogation, Tài said sincerely: "I'll answer you. I respect you. Melbourne police? Never." With confessions from Tài and Hoa, Nguyễn Đức Lượng and his entire operation were arrested in 2002. The investigators confiscated 108 heroin bricks and 205.5 kg of drugs - both record numbers in Vietnam.

Officers searching for drugs on Lượng's farm. Courtesy of Công An.

Above were some of the most famous cases that Colonel Phạm Văn Tám has solved in his career. Thanks to the effort of people like the Colonel and his colleagues, Vietnam has seen significantly less criminal activities in recent years.

*: Because Colonel Phạm Văn Tám is an active member of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, his identity (facial features and personal details) cannot be fully disclosed to the public. It is unknown whether Phạm Văn Tám is his real name or not.