Khá Bảnh - Wikipedia

Vietnamese YouTuber, internet personality In this Vietnamese name, the surname is Ngô. In accordance with Vietnamese custom, this person should be referred to by the given name.

Khá Bảnh
Born	Ngô Bá Khá (1993-11-27) 27 November 1993 (age 31)Từ Sơn, Bắc Ninh, Vietnam
Nationality	Vietnamese
Occupations	YouTuber Amateur actor
Known for	Internet phenomena
Height	170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Criminal charges	Illegal GamblingDrug abuseIntentional injuries
Criminal penalty	10½ years imprisonment
Spouse	Unknown ​ ​(m. 2013; div. 2017)​
YouTube information
Channels	Khá BảnH (terminated)
Years active	2014–2019
Genre	Entertainment Vlog Music

Ngô Bá Khá (Vietnamese pronunciation: [ŋo˧˧ʔɓaː˧˦xaː˧˦]; born 27 November 1993), better known by his pseudonym Khá Bảnh (Vietnamese pronunciation: [xaː˧˦ʔɓajŋ̟˧˩]; lit. 'quite handsome'), is a Vietnamese YouTuber, internet personality and amateur actor. He is known primarily for posting videos with controversial statements and content, as well as "múa quạt",[a] which became a youth trend in Vietnam.

Throughout his career, Khá Bảnh has become the subject of many controversies due to his behavior and content of his YouTube channel, most notably a promotional video that featured a scene in which he and his friends burned a brand new scooter. On 2 April 2019, Khá Bảnh was arrested during a police raid and sentenced to 10.5 years in prison for illegal gambling. Immediately after Khá Bảnh was arrested, his YouTube channel, which at the time had more than 2 million subscribers, was terminated.[1]

Early life

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Ngô Bá Khá was born on 27 November 1993, in Tam Sơn, a town in Từ Sơn, Bắc Ninh, Vietnam, as the youngest child and the only son to a family of four children. His mother is Nguyễn Thị Khánh (born 1956) and his father–whose name is unknown–passed away in 2010.[2]

Khá attended Elementary School and Middle School in his hometown Tam Sơn, but had to dropout at 7th grade due to reasons related to his family. Despite numerous attempts, the school committee and his class teacher could not convince him to go back to school.[3] At the age of 14, Khá attempted to be a wood carpenter and worked in various jobs in the years that followed,[4] until he was detained in Yên Mô Youth Detention Center, Ninh Binh at the age of 17 after being arrested and charged with assault.[5] Shortly after his release in 2012, Khá Bảnh was again charged for the same reason and had to spend another 5-month sentence in jail. Upon returning home, he tried various jobs but ended up as a loan shark. However, Khá Bảnh later claimed that he was not involved in any illegal business.[6]

Internet career

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Khá Bảnh quickly rose to fame due to a series of videos–which he himself described as "funny"–about his life on his Facebook page, where he can be seen at work, partying or hanging out with his friends. He was also known for his unusual taste in clothing, as well as his hair–a variant of the mullet hairstyle.[7] In 2017, after realizing that his videos had received a lot of attention from people, mostly teenagers, he decided to create his own YouTube channel.[8] The channel grew rapidly within a few months of its creation. He then assembled his own camera team that help create "professional" videos depicting his giang hồ (gangster) life and to create a picture of him as a man of honor who possesses many moral principles such as trượng nghĩa ('from a sense of justice').[9]

The disco dance-style "múa quạt", which was originally a dance move performed by G-Dragon in Big Bang's music video "Fantastic Baby",[10][11] had become one of Khá Bảnh's trademarks.[12] Because of him, this dance quickly became a trend in Vietnam and has been well received by a significant number of young people.[13][14]

Controversies

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Despite his popularity, many people argue that his videos are inappropriate according to traditional Vietnamese values. Khá Bảnh often uploads violent videos showing his gangster life, which involve fighting or insulting other people.[15] Many videos show him walking through the street with illegal weapons such as a machete or expandable baton.[16] Despite that, he still made large sums of money from YouTube, estimated to be up to $20,000 per month, without any restrictions.[17][18]

On 10 March 2019, Khá Bảnh posted group photos on Facebook showing him with his friends standing in a row on the Hanoi–Haiphong Expressway while leaving their cars on the side of the highway. The day after, Khá Bảnh was dragged to the police station, where he testified that he and his friends were taking a toilet break on their way home after attending a wedding in the neighboring Thái Bình Province and the group photos were thus "unintentional".[19] Khá Bảnh subsequently had to pay a fine of VNĐ5.5 million (equivalent to $280 in 2023) and his driver's license was suspended for 2 months.[20]

On 29 March 2019, Khá Bảnh uploaded a video that later turned out to be a promotional video showing him alongside a burnt Honda PCX scooter and suggested other people buy an electric motorbike that supposedly was cheaper to operate. His action was not welcome by most people and he was forced to remove the video that evening.[21]

Arrest

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On 1 April 2019, Khá Bảnh was arrested during a police raid on allegations of using drugs, organizing gambling, and illegal money lending. His initial drug test resulted positive. While searching his home for further investigations, the police found various indications of illegal gambling, lottery and money lending.[22][23] On 13 November 2019, he was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison, along with a fine of VNĐ30 million for gambling and organizing gambling.[24][25] During his trial, Khá Bảnh was cheered on by a large crowd gathered outside the district court of Từ Sơn, whom he promised that he would return after few years.[26][27]

Personal life

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In 2013, Khá married a woman from his village, but the couple divorced in 2017. Shortly after Khá's arrest in 2019, while searching his home for evidence, the police met two women who claimed to be his wives. However, neither of them had a marriage certificate to prove their statements.[28] Khá was allegedly in a relationship with a woman named Hương Dương since 2018. Not much is known about her other than she makes online sales on her Facebook page, which has grown significantly due to Khá's popularity.[29] The current status of their relationship is unclear. However, there have been rumors that the couple split up after Khá Bảnh went to jail.[30]

Notes

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1. ^ "Múa quạt" (lit. 'fan dance'), also known as "helicopter dance".

References

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1. ^ B.C (3 March 2019). "Google mạnh tay xóa kênh Youtube Khá "Bảnh"". Báo Công an nhân dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: Ministry of Public Security. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
2. ^ Thành Hưng; Nam Phương (3 April 2019). "Mẹ ruột Khá 'bảnh' tiết lộ quá khứ của con". VietNamNet (in Vietnamese). Hanoi: Ministry of Information and Communications. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
3. ^ Nam Phương; Thành Hưng. "Khá 'bảnh' nghỉ học từ lớp 7 do hoàn cảnh gia đình". VietNamNet (in Vietnamese). Hà Nội: Bộ Thông tin và Truyền thông. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
4. ^ Phạm Dự (14 November 2019). "Quá khứ tù tội của Khá 'Bảnh'" (in Vietnamese). Bắc Ninh: VnExpress: Tin nhanh Việt Nam. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
5. ^ Quỳnh Anh (2 April 2019). "Lai lịch bất hảo ra tù vào tội của Khá "bảnh"". Báo Giao thông (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
6. ^ Phạm Dự (4 April 2019). "Quá khứ tù tội của Khá 'Bảnh'". VnExpress (in Vietnamese). Bắc Ninh. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
7. ^ Buu (8 April 2019). "Khá Bảnh 'tạm biệt' mái tóc bờm ngựa trong thời gian bị tạm giam chờ điều tra xét hỏi". 2Sao (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
8. ^ Hoàng Lam (20 October 2020). "Yêu cầu gỡ bỏ kênh YouTube của Khá Bảnh, Dũng Trọc". Hà Nội Mới (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
9. ^ "Diễn cảnh anh hùng, giang hồ đua nhau làm video bạo lực trên Youtube". Lao Động (in Vietnamese). Vietnam General Confederation of Labour. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
10. ^ Quỳnh Thư (30 November 2019). "Khá Bảnh liệu có phải "ông tổ" điệu "múa quạt" khiến bao đứa trẻ học theo?". Kiến Thức (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
11. ^ "Không phải Khá Bảnh, từ 7 năm trước G-Dragon đã là 'ông tổ' khai sinh điệu múa quạt đình đám". 2Sao.vn (in Vietnamese). 26 November 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
12. ^ Nguyễn Hương; Xuân Mai (14 November 2020). "Ngăn chặn "rác" độc trên không gian mạng". Báo Công an nhân dân điện tử (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
13. ^ Hà My (1 April 2019). "Lại xuất hiện màn 'múa quạt Khá Bảnh' của thí sinh Đường lên đỉnh Olympia gây tranh cãi". Saostar (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
14. ^ Ban Biên tập (9 December 2019). "VĐV Việt Nam "múa quạt" trước khi bắt đầu phần thi đấu tại SEA Games 30". Chuyên trang Hoa Học Trò – Chuyên trang Hoa Học Trò – Báo điện tử Tiền Phong (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
15. ^ Bảo An (5 April 2019). "Khá 'Bảnh' được tìm kiếm nhiều trong tuần". VnExpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
16. ^ Huệ Linh (3 April 2019). "Vì sao Khá Bảnh được nhiều bạn trẻ coi là thần tượng?". Báo Điện tử An ninh Thủ đô (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
17. ^ Cao Nguyên (5 April 2019). "Khá Bảnh kiếm tiền tỉ qua Youtube: Tổng cục Thuế nói gì?". Lao Động (in Vietnamese). Vietnam General Confederation of Labour. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
18. ^ Hiệp Bình (4 April 2019). "Video trên Youtube của Khá "bảnh" có tháng được Google trả tới 19.500 USD". Báo Công an nhân dân điện tử. Ministry of Public Security. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
19. ^ Cường Ngô (11 March 2019). "Dàn hàng ngang chụp ảnh trên cao tốc: Cục CSGT mời Khá Bảnh làm việc". Lao Động (in Vietnamese). Vietnam General Confederation of Labour. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
20. ^ Thái Sơn (21 March 2019). "Phạt Khá "bảnh" 5,5 triệu đồng, tước bằng lái xe 2 tháng". Báo Thanh Niên (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
21. ^ Việt Đức (30 March 2019). "Khá Bảnh đốt xe để quảng cáo vi phạm luật cạnh tranh?". Zing News (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
22. ^ "Vietnamese Youtube troublemaker arrested for legal infringements – News VietNamNet". VietNamNet English. 3 April 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
23. ^ Danh Trọng (2 April 2019). "'Giang hồ' Khá Bảnh bị bắt, dương tính ma túy". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
24. ^ "Jail sentence given to gambling ring associated with 'social media influencer'". VietNamNet Global. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
25. ^ Danh Trọng (13 November 2019). "Tuyên phạt Khá Bảnh 10 năm 6 tháng tù". TUOI TRE ONLINE (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
26. ^ Hoàng Trúc (16 November 2019). "Về phiên tòa Khá Bảnh và văn hóa giang hồ". BBC News Vietnamese (in Vietnamese). Ho Chi Minh City. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
27. ^ Tấn Đạt (14 November 2019). "Từ vụ Khá 'bảnh' lãnh án hơn 10 năm tù: Lệch lạc 'thần tượng' của người trẻ". Báo Thanh Niên (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
28. ^ Ngọc Thắng (2 April 2019). "Thông tin bất ngờ: 2 cô gái nhận là vợ Khá Bảnh thời điểm công an khám nhà". Tổ quốc (in Vietnamese). Hà Nội: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
29. ^ Thảo Nguyên (5 April 2019). "Thực hư cô gái xinh như hotgirl được cho là người yêu Khá Bảnh sẽ cưới vào cuối năm?". Thể thao & Văn hoá (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
30. ^ "Khá Bảnh đi tù mới hơn 1 năm, 'vợ suýt cưới' ở quê bị đồn yêu người mới". 2Sao.vn (in Vietnamese). 8 July 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.

External links

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• Media related to Khá Bảnh at Wikimedia Commons

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