Model Ngoc Trinh faces extended detention, trial on Feb. 2 for motorbike stunts

Trinh, 35, has been charged with disrupting public order and could face a sentence of 2-7 years in prison. She is currently detained and her case will be heard by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court.

Tran Xuan Dong, 36, Trinh’s motorbike instructor, was also charged with disrupting public order and fabricating seals and documents.

Trinh has three defense lawyers while Dong has one attorney. Some people involved in the model’s photography crew have also been summoned to court.

According to the indictment, Trinh and Dong pulled off large displacement motorbike stunts without appropriate licenses in Thu Duc City on Oct. 6 last year.

Trinh performed the stunts without protective equipment and rode the vehicle in “inappropriate” positions, the formal accusation said.

In September last year, Trinh and Dong also performed stunts on a Kawasaki Ninja at the Thu Thiem urban area, including standing on one side of the vehicle, and driving with no hands, an investigation found.

They recorded the stunts and posted them as five videos on several social media platforms, including TikTok and Facebook, according to the charges. The videos received over 163 million interactions.

Prosecutors said the content of the posts had negatively affected public security, order and social safety, as well as youth culture.

Both defendants were arrested on Oct. 19 last year.

Born in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, the 35-year-old model began her career in 2005 and garnered public recognition for her lingerie and swimsuit photo shoots.

She then won the Miss Vietnam International pageant in 2011.

She made her debut as an actress in the 2016 film “Vong Eo 56” (Queen of the Bikini), which was based on her life, and has participated in several other film projects since then.