A famous Vietnamese lingerie model known as the “Underwear Queen” received a one-year suspended sentence for “disrupting social order” by posting videos of herself performing risky motorcycle stunts on Facebook.
Tran Thi Ngoc Trinh, 34, was freed shortly after receiving her sentence from the Ho Chi Minh City Court Thursday morning. A suspended sentence does not require the offender to serve time in prison.
Police arrested her for her viral video clips of herself lying down on a motorcycle, kneeling on the seat, driving hands-free and placing both legs on one side of the vehicle, Vietnamese media reported.
Legal experts told RFA that the charges against her were unfounded, especially because she wasn't driving on a street, and was not in any way criticizing the government.
During the trial, Trinh testified that she had been training with a teacher, Tran Xuan Dong, to get a driver’s license for a large-displacement motorbike. She asked Dong to teach her some driving stunts and she imitated other video clips posted online.
Dong was sentenced to one-and-a-half years for “disrupting social order” and “using fake documents” on the same day.
“In my opinion, the verdict of one-year suspension is appropriate and humane,” a Hanoi lawyer, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told RFA Vietnamese.
“However, her act should have not led to arrest, and the media that ran her photos should have blurred her face so as not to affect her personal image.”
He said that through this case, authorities wanted to warn people who have large followings on social media.
“The judges should observe the law, not follow someone else’s instructions,” he said.
Prior to the trial, Trinh published an apology video clip filmed at the Police Station and advised others not to follow her actions.
Translated by An Nguyen. Edited by Eugene Whong and Malcolm Foster.