A man in Vietnam has committed a shocking act by stealing his uncle’s skull and bones from a grave.
He attempted to extort 5 billion Vietnamese dong (US$203,000) from the deceased man’s family to settle his gambling debts.
On September 9, 37-year-old Luu Thanh Nam, from Thanh Hoa province in northern Vietnam, used a shovel to dig a 20cm hole in his uncle’s grave. He removed some of his uncle’s remains and concealed them in a nearby pile of rubbish.
The deceased was the father of Nam’s cousin, Luu Thanh Hoi, and had passed away four years earlier, as reported by the Vietnamese media
The following day, Nam sent a threatening text message to Hoi’s wife using an anonymous phone number, demanding payment for the return of the bones and warning that if they contacted the police, they would never recover the remains.
Alarmed by the message, Hoi and his wife checked the grave and discovered the hole in the coffin cap. They promptly alerted the authorities.
Following an investigation, Nam was identified as the perpetrator, confessing to the crime and citing overwhelming gambling debts as his motive.
The police recovered the stolen bones and returned them to Hoi’s family.
Disturbing a grave is considered highly disrespectful in Vietnamese tradition, believed to cause unrest to the deceased’s soul, potentially impacting the living.
In response to the incident, Hoi reinterred his father’s remains according to local customs, hoping to restore peace to the spirit.
On September 12, Nam was arrested for grave desecration and extortion, with the specific penalties yet to be disclosed.
In Vietnam, penalties for grave desecration can be up to seven years in prison, and those convicted of extortion may face sentences of up to 20 years, depending on the amount involved.
The incident has garnered significant attention on social media, where users expressed outrage.
One observer said: “Isn’t this man afraid of facing bad karma? He should work honestly to repay his debts.”
“Stay away from gambling; don’t let money cloud your judgment,” said another.
Similar incidents have been reported across Asia.
In March, a man in Anhui province, eastern China, was arrested after digging up a villager’s grave, stealing ashes, and extorting money from the deceased’s family.
In China, stealing remains is illegal and can result in a prison sentence of up to three years, while extortion can lead to a maximum sentence of 10 years.
