Authorities, in collaboration with the fugitive’s family and local government, have exhumed the body to collect DNA samples.
According to the case file, on March 1, 2007, Trần Văn Chung visited the tea shop owned by Mr. N.V.B and Mrs. P.T.P in Cẩm Thạch Ward, Cẩm Phả City, demanding a protection fee of 2,000 VND per day. However, Mr. B and Mrs. P refused his request. The following day, March 2, 2007, Chung returned to the tea shop with another accomplice to continue his demand for money.
During the discussion, a heated argument escalated into a physical altercation, during which Nguyễn Văn Chung stabbed N.V.S (born 1972, residing in Cẩm Trung Ward, Cẩm Phả City), a friend of Mrs. P’s daughter, resulting in S’s death. Chung then fled the scene. On March 5, 2007, the investigation agency of Cẩm Phả Town issued a decision to initiate criminal proceedings against Trần Văn Chung for “Murder due to exceeding the limits of self-defense,” and on March 22, 2007, a wanted notice number 17 was issued for him. After years without any leads, in 2024, the investigation agency unexpectedly received information about Chung. It was discovered that while in hiding, Trần Văn Chung had been living with a woman named H in Lục Nam District, Bắc Giang Province, without a marriage certificate. Based on the gathered information, the Criminal Police Department promptly dispatched a task force to Lục Nam to verify details about this woman named H.
However, upon arriving at Mrs. H’s address in Lục Nam, the team learned that she had moved away. After months of continued investigation, the task force from the Quảng Ninh Provincial Police identified that Mrs. H was now residing in a border commune in Lạng Sơn Province. During their investigation, they confirmed that during his time in hiding, Chung had used the alias Hoàng Văn Dũng and cohabited with Mrs. H as a couple in Vô Tranh Commune, Lục Nam District, Bắc Giang Province. Between 2008 and 2010, Chung and Mrs. H had a child together.
In mid-2014, Chung passed away from lung cancer. Mrs. H, along with local authorities, organized his funeral and buried him in the area but did not obtain a death certificate.
Based on Mrs. H’s testimony, the Criminal Police Department coordinated with her family and the local government of Vô Tranh Commune, Lục Nam District, to exhume the body of Hoàng Văn Dũng to collect DNA samples for testing. The DNA analysis confirmed that Hoàng Văn Dũng was indeed Trần Văn Chung.
As a result, on February 11, 2025, the Quảng Ninh Provincial Police issued a decision to cease the manhunt for Trần Văn Chung, concluding an 18-year pursuit of the fugitive by the investigation agency.