Murderers must all pay the price.

Việt Nam•11/09/2023

Defendant Loan

Defendant Cuong listens to the sentencing.

Murder of a young lover

Around June 2022, Nguyen Thi Bich Loan (born in 1979, residing in Nguyen Du Hamlet, My Binh Ward, Long Xuyen City ) and Nguyen To Truong (born in 1984, residing in An Binh Commune, Nam Sach District, Hai Duong Province) lived together as husband and wife in My Binh Ward. However, the two frequently had conflicts and fought.

On the afternoon of March 20, 2023, after drinking half a liter of alcohol, Loan rode her motorbike to find Truong. She found Truong gambling for money in area 19 (Nguyen Du neighborhood, about 300m from Loan's house). Loan told him to go home, but Truong didn't listen. Loan threatened to report him to the police. As Loan turned her back, Truong grabbed a nearby plastic-handled dustpan, about 70cm long, and hit her on the head, breaking her helmet and causing injuries to her head.

Enraged, Loan ran to a nearby beverage stall, snatched a knife with a gold handle, approximately 21.5cm long, and stabbed Truong in the left thigh, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. Seeing Truong bleeding profusely, Loan panicked and asked people to take him to the hospital. However, Truong died before reaching the hospital.

Upon receiving the report, the My Binh Ward Police secured the scene and summoned Loan for questioning. On March 22, 2023, Loan was charged and investigated. During the investigation, as well as at the first-instance trial, Loan sincerely repented and regretted her criminal act. The defendant stated that she was an alcoholic and therefore could not control her anger when Truong assaulted her, but did not intentionally kill Truong. After considering the circumstances of the case and the defendant's criminal behavior , the Provincial People's Court sentenced Nguyen Thi Bich Loan to 12 years in prison for the crime of "Murder".

Murder committed due to gambling and debt.

Due to his gambling addiction, Nguyen Hung Cuong (born in 1982, residing in An Luc Long commune, Chau Thanh district, Long An province) fell into debt. To get money to pay off his debts and continue his extravagant lifestyle, Cuong conceived the idea of… murder and robbery.

According to the investigation results, after serving a sentence for "theft of property" in Ben Tre province, Nguyen Hung Cuong made a living by selling goods door-to-door. Around the end of December 2022, Cuong and his girlfriend moved to Chau Doc City and rented a room to live and work. Cuong went to Thuong Phuoc 1 commune (Hong Nguy district, Dong Thap province) to sell coconuts and gambled at casinos in Cambodia, leading to debt.

While in Dong Thap province, Cuong learned that Mr. Vo Van Liem (born in 1954, residing in Thuong Phuoc 1 commune, Hong Nguy district) worked as a motorbike taxi driver, and he conceived the idea of murdering him to rob him of his belongings. Around 7:00 AM on December 26, 2022, Cuong prepared a flat iron bar, about 30cm long, hidden it in his backpack, and then called Mr. Liem, arranging for him to pick him up at Thuong Phuoc 1 market to go to Chau Doc city for 500,000 VND.

Later, Cuong pretended to ask Mr. Liem to drive him to a jackfruit orchard in the Canal 8 area (Long Hung hamlet, Thuong Phuoc 1 commune), where Cuong used to buy and sell coconuts, in order to borrow money from an acquaintance. Cuong asked him to drive to the end of the orchard and stop to drink water. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Cuong murdered Mr. Liem, stealing 34,000 dong, a gold ring, a mobile phone, and the victim's motorbike, totaling nearly 15.5 million dong in value.

After stealing the victim's property, Cuong drove the victim's motorbike to the Chau Thanh District Police Station (Long An Province) to obtain a citizen identification card, then returned to Chau Doc City to live with his girlfriend. To avoid detection by authorities, Cuong used the tactic of changing the license plate and paint color of the motorbike. On December 31, 2022, residents discovered the victim's body and reported it to the police. On January 5, 2023, Cuong was arrested and on January 9, 2023, he was charged and investigated.

At the first-instance trial, Cuong gave evasive testimony before the panel of judges, showing a cold and unrepentant attitude, despite having a prior criminal record. The panel of judges analyzed that, due to his lazy nature and love of pleasure, the defendant fell into debt and therefore planned to murder the victim and steal his property in an extremely cunning and devious manner. The defendant's actions demonstrated cruelty and a willingness to commit the crime to the end to satisfy his own desires, causing outrage among the public and the victim's family. Accordingly, the Provincial People's Court decided to sentence Nguyen Hung Cuong to death for the crimes of "Robbery" and "Murder".

NGUYEN HUNG

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