The killers, Hoang Anh Tuan, Le Hong Thuan allegedly performed the messy assassination.
Hoang Kim Binh hired them.
According to statements the men gave in police custody, Thanh. the victim, lent Van more than VND2 billion (US$94,000). After numerous failed attempts to negotiate his repayment of the debt, Van and Thanh decided to meet at a cafeteria.
Van asked Binh, 43, to secretly accompany him and get a sense of what Thanh looked like if he proved unwilling to extend his deadline.
After the negotiations failed, Van ordered Binh to “threaten” his lender.
Binh then hired Tuan and Thuan, a xe om (motorbike taxi) driver, to do the job for VND30 million ($1,400).
The two men agreed to split the fee.
Tuan and Thuan spent time secretly following Thanh to get to know his schedule.
On August 5, Tuan bought a dagger and carried Thuan to search for Thanh.
After spotting Thanh, the pair rammed their motorbike into Thanh’s Honda CRV.
When Thanh stopped his car and rolled down his window to assess the impact, Tuan stabbed him three times killing him instantly.