Wife sentenced to 4 years in prison for killing husband due to domestic violence.

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of July 17th, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial to hear the murder case against Truong Thi Bai (born in 1960, residing in Nghia Khanh commune, Nghia Dan district).

According to the indictment, in 1984, Bai married Dang Cong Toan (born in 1961). For nearly 20 years of their marriage, they had five daughters, and their life together was relatively peaceful. However, from 2002 onwards, Dang Cong Toan became addicted to alcohol. When drunk, Toan would return home, verbally abuse and physically assault his wife and children, and chase them out of the house. Many times, Toan and his children had to seek refuge at a neighbor's house. Toan would go to the neighbor's house, yell at them, and demand that they no longer allow Bai and her children to sleep there. Local authorities repeatedly had to intervene, issue fines, and warn them. However, after a few days, Toan would revert to his old habits.

Defendant Truong Thi Bai at the trial.

On the evening of February 21, 2014, Toan went drinking and returned home completely drunk. He started yelling at his wife and demanding that she go to work on the mornings of both the 30th and 1st of Tet (Lunar New Year), threatening to "kill Bai's children eight times" if she didn't comply. Knowing her husband was drunk, Bai said, "Shut up, why are you yelling so fiercely?" Toan, exhausted, beat his wife and children and forced them to sleep in the chicken coop. Near dawn, Bai got up to cook rice, but Toan returned home drunk. He continued to yell at and beat his wife. Bai pushed him away and ran out into the street. Around 6:40 AM, Bai went back inside and found her husband dozing on the bed. Seeing his wife, Toan grabbed her collar and tried to hit her. They struggled and pushed each other, causing them to fall to the floor, but Toan still wouldn't let go of her collar. Bai kicked her husband, causing him to fall. Bai tried to get up and run away, but her husband grabbed her collar and pulled her back. Seeing a straw knife under the bed, Bai forcibly took it and repeatedly stabbed her husband in the head, causing him to die from shock and severe blood loss due to multiple injuries.

After committing the crime, Truong Thi Bai surrendered to the Nghia Dan District Police. At the trial, Truong Thi Bai sincerely confessed and showed remorse. Considering that in this case, the defendant Truong Thi Bai was a victim of domestic violence. Because Bai was continuously abused by her husband for a long time, despite repeated interventions from local authorities, Dang Cong Toan did not change his behavior. Due to extreme stress, Bai committed the crime. During the investigation and trial, the defendant sincerely confessed and showed remorse, so the Court considered granting her mitigating circumstances as prescribed by law. After comprehensively reviewing all the evidence, the Panel of Judges sentenced Truong Thi Bai to 4 years of imprisonment.

Khang Hoa

PC81 CANA