Bạch Hải Đường (1950–1983), whose real name was Nguyễn Ngọc Truyện, was known as the ''phantom thief'' () in

southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam () is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative subregions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 are provi ...

from 1970 to 1982. He was wanted by both the pre-1975 National Police and the later

Public Security Forces The Public Security Forces (PSF), formerly known as the Bahrain State Police, are the principal Bahraini law enforcement arm of the Ministry of Interior. They are commanded by Maj. Gen. Tarek Al Hasan and include all Ministry of Interior field un ...

. Bạch Hải Đường was believed to have never killed anyone and that he had only actually used his gun once in a gold robbery, which was also the reason the police started to use lethal force on him. During one of his arrest, he confessed that he used all stolen money for himself. However, since Bạch Hải Đường wasn't known to be a wasteful spender, there were rumours that he donated his money to

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

Life

Early years

Born to a poor family in 1950 Long Xuyên, Nguyễn Ngọc Truyện was the son of Nguyễn Văn Của, a porter, and Lê Thị Huê, a bread seller. In 1962, his father was accused of being a

bandit Banditry is a type of organized crime committed by outlaws typically involving the threat or use of violence. A person who engages in banditry is known as a bandit and primarily commits crimes such as extortion, robbery, kidnapping, and murder, e ...

and was shot dead on the street by the police. His mother left the town while he was adopted by his uncle. In 1969, Nguyễn Ngọc Triệu married and moved to

Cần Thơ Cần Thơ () is the List of cities in Vietnam, fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city along the Mekong Delta region in Vietnam. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It has ...

for some time to avoid being drafted.

Before 1975

In 1971, Truyện's son fell ill and with no money to buy medicine, he and some of his friends formed a robber band. They often aimed at rich families, Vietnamese bureaucrats, and foreign officials in

An Giang An Giang is a province of Vietnam. It is located in the Mekong Delta, in the country's southwestern part. Geography An Giang is located in the upper reaches of the Mekong Delta. The Hậu Giang and Tiền Giang branches of the Mekong River ...

, even went as far as robbing a military base. Captain Nguyễn Văn Triệu, Deputy Commander of Long Xuyên Town Police Forces, issued an arrest warrant for Nguyễn Ngọc Truyện under the name ''Bạch Hải Đường'' (literally means "White

Malus ''Malus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 32–57 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae, including the domesticated orchard apple, crab apples (sometimes known in North America as crabapples) and wild apples. The genus i ...

"), calling him "general of robbers" ().

Captain Triệu and Bạch Hải Đường

Source: Captain Nguyễn Văn Triệu was a police officer of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. He was well known for his brutal way of dealing with criminals in the region of the time, though it was believed that Captain Triệu was financially supported by two gang groups. Triệu was even awarded with the "Third Class Hero" medal (huân chương "Anh dũng hạng Ba") by Brigadier General

Trần Văn Hai Brigadier General Trần Văn Hai (1927 – April 30, 1975) was an officer in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. He was born in Cần Thơ. Military service In 1951, Hai graduated from the Dalat Military Academy, Class 7. In May 1968, he was ...

. As Bạch Hải Đường became more famous, Captain Triệu had ordered his men to kill the phantom thief on sight. Bạch Hải Đường decided to play a trick on Captain Triệu. While his gang was distracting Triệu's men elsewhere, he and two others broke into the captain's home. They quickly attacked and locked the house servant in the toilet room. Triệu's wife was reading when Bạch Hải Đường opened her room door, pointing a gun at her. After introducing his name, Bạch Hải Đường ordered his partner to tie her up and they began to pillage the house. Bạch Hải Đường then called the police station to inform Captain Triệu that he had "borrowed some of his stuff". Two days later, wanted posters were issued, stating that "Nguyễn Ngọc Truyện aka Bạch Hải Đường is a particularly dangerous robber who has committed many crimes and harmed the security of the National Government."

Since 1975

After the

Reunification Day Reunification Day (), also known as Victory Day (), Liberation Day ( or ), or by its official name, Day of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification () is a public holiday in Vietnam that marks the day when the People's Army of Vi ...

, Bạch Hải Đường was arrested by the new government, but managed to break free. After escaping another prison, he committed a gold robbery, was shot at the leg, and was imprisoned again. In 1980, he broke free again. Three years later, he was shot and arrested again. Due to having many untreated injuries, Bạch Hải Đường passed away at the age of 33.

Personal life

Bạch Hải Đường divorced his first wife in 1972 and married a woman named Nguyễn Thị Lệ. However, Lệ later reported Bạch Hải Đường's crime to the police, causing their relationship to end. He had four younger sisters, two sons with his first wife, and another son with his second wife. He learned

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

from his uncle.

Opinions

A wife of Bạch Hải Đường's friend said that he had a gentle manner and a gander face, he spoke politely and knew how to behave in front of his elders. Though, she also marked that the thief's eyes and voice were sharp and scary whenever he "worked". Some described Bạch Hải Đường as "a gallant '' giang hồ''" who "robbed the rich to give to the poor", while others believed he was just "a petty thief" that Captain Triệu couldn't catch and the story about "general of robbers" was created to prevent humiliation.

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

The battle against general of robbers Bạch Hải Đường (all)
Vietnamese criminals 1950 births 1983 deaths People from An Giang province