Young motorbike racers at the trial on Wednesday.

According to the Hoan Kiem District People’s Court on Wednesday, a group of young people aged 17 to 27 gathered by Hoan Kiem Lake between 10pm and 11pm on April 7, while the whole country was following social distancing orders to fight COVID-19.

The defendants held motorbike races around the Hoan Kiem Lake area at midnight without wearing helmets.

On April 9, the police caught Phan Cao Cuong, Nguyen Quang Huy, Nguyen Son Thanh, Hoang Nam Khanh, Le Dinh Phai and other teenagers who were racing.

Defendant Phan Cao Cuong confessed to the police that the large group gathered late on April 7 and 9 to race their bikes.

They also cheered and recorded videos, causing public disorder in Hoan Kiem District.

Phan Cao Cuong, 27, and Nguyen Tien Anh, 22, who led the group, were sentenced to 16 months each in prison.

Four defendants, Nguyen Van La, Nguyen Quang Huy, Nguyen Son Thanh and Le Thi Thanh Huyen, were sentenced to between eight and ten months in jail.

Four others received five-month sentences. VNS

Two Danang policemen die while trying to stop motorbike race

Two policemen in the central city of Danang died while they were trying to deal with an illegal motorbike race.