18 years in prison for murder at wedding

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of July 24, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance trial of Nguyen Tien Manh (born 1982) for "Murder" and Nguyen Tien Cuong (born 1988), Nguyen Hoang Van (born 1984), both residing in Nghi Loc district, for "Disturbing public order".

Defendant Manh (middle) and defendants Cuong and Van in court.

According to the indictment, due to a conflict at a previous wedding, Nguyen Hoang Van and Nguyen Hoang Thong went to find Nguyen Tien Manh's brothers to take revenge. At 11:00 a.m. on July 26, 2013, when both of them arrived at Moi hamlet, Nghi Thiet commune to attend the wedding, they encountered a car carrying Manh's family to the wedding, driven by Le Van Thang. Seeing this, Thong and Van blocked the car, caused trouble and assaulted them.

Seeing the dangerous situation, Thang opened the car door and ran away, but was caught by Nguyen Hoang Van and beaten with a belt. At that time, two brothers Nguyen Tien Manh and Nguyen Tien Cuong were sitting nearby drinking water and discovered Thang being beaten. Cuong immediately ran out to fight with Van and some local youths. However, because he was at a disadvantage, Cuong was also beaten. Angry, Manh took two knives he had held before and ran to stab Nguyen Hoang Thong once in the chest, causing the victim to die on the spot.

The suspects were arrested shortly thereafter. After reviewing the details of the case, the panel sentenced Nguyen Tien Manh to 18 years in prison for “Murder”; Nguyen Tien Cuong and Nguyen Hoang Van to 9 months in prison for “Disturbing public order” but suspended the sentence. Defendant Manh alone must pay 120 million VND in compensation to the family and provide child support for Mr. Thong’s 2 children who are 18 years old.

Duc Chung