The shocking armed prison break at the Svay Rieng Provincial Court in Cambodia last November has recently been officially sentenced. This sensational jailbreak, akin to a movie plot, ended tragically for the couple that masterminded it. The Cambodian court recently delivered its ruling, convicting Nguyen Thi Hai Yun of assisting the escape and illegal possession of weapons, and sentencing her to 8 years in prison; her husband Pang Wanbao, the escape’s mastermind, was given 14 years in prison.
At the time of the incident, Vietnamese woman Nguyen Thi Hai Yun boldly stormed into the court alone and publicly handed a gun to her husband from inside her clothing.
During the trial, Nguyen Thi Hai Yun’s risky act for love sparked heated debate online among Chinese netizens, who even dubbed her “Southeast Asia’s Number One Devotion” and “The Last Lady Boss of the Underworld”.
According to CamboChinese Times on the 19th, the sensational prison break occurred on November 18, 2025. The case details reveal that the 29-year-old Vietnamese mastermind, Pang Wanbao, was arrested in January 2025 and held pending trial for suspected drug trafficking and illegal detention.
To rescue her husband, Nguyen Thi Hai Yun meticulously planned over several days:
November 14: She first rented a black car for use as a getaway vehicle.
November 16: Using encrypted messaging app Telegram, she purchased a K54 handgun and ammunition for $1,500.
November 17: She checked into a hotel near the court in advance, secretly observing police escort routines and planning escape routes.
November 16: Using encrypted messaging app Telegram, she purchased a K54 handgun and ammunition for $1,500.
November 17: She checked into a hotel near the court in advance, secretly observing police escort routines and planning escape routes.
On the morning of November 18, Nguyen Thi Hai Yun rode a motorcycle and slipped into the Svay Rieng Provincial Court. As the police vehicle escorting Pang Wanbao arrived, she quickly approached, and just as her husband got out of the vehicle and his handcuffs were removed, she took a K54 pistol loaded with 7 rounds from her clothing and handed it to him. Pang Wanbao immediately racked the slide, threatened and fired at the bailiffs, then joined five other detainees in escaping from the court, boarding the getaway vehicle. The entire rescue operation took less than a minute.
Justice prevailed swiftly. Just 9 hours after the incident, on the same night, police arrested all seven individuals involved—including the masterminding couple—and recovered the firearm used in the crime.
In addition to Nguyen Thi Hai Yun receiving 8 years’ imprisonment, and Pang Wanbao and another accomplice each receiving 14 years, two Cambodian accomplices who assisted were sentenced to 9 years and 18 months in prison respectively.