Life sentence for husband who hacked to death 'post-divorce debt' collector hired by ex-wife
(Baonghean.vn) - Many times unable to collect the amount of money the court ordered after the divorce, Ms. Xuan hired someone to collect the debt from her ex-husband, Nguyen Quoc Khanh (also residing in Do Luong district, Nghe An). At her house, Khanh used a knife to slash one person to death and injured another person by 45%.
On the morning of November 13, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Quoc Khanh (born 1968), residing in Van Son commune, Do Luong district, for the crime of "Murder".
According to the investigation agency's documents, Nguyen Quoc Khanh married Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan (born 1971) in 1990 and had 2 children together. During their time together, the two sides had many irreconcilable conflicts, so in 2018, Ms. Xuan wrote a divorce petition to the People's Court of Do Luong district. After many unsuccessful reconciliations, the court approved Ms. Xuan's divorce from Mr. Khanh and at the same time required Mr. Khanh to compensate the amount of more than 53 million VND (the amount of money divided by the difference in the value of the couple's common property).
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| Defendant Nguyen Quoc Khanh at trial. Photo: Tran Vu |
At about 10:30 a.m. on May 18, 2019, Mr. D. and Nguyen Cong Giang (born in 1986) and Ms. Xuan went to Khanh's house to collect debt. At that time, Khanh's mother and son and their husband were in the house. Hearing the dog barking, knowing that someone was coming, Khanh held a sharp knife in one hand and a chopping knife in the other. When Mr. D. had just stepped up the steps, Khanh rushed forward and used his right hand to slash the other person many times. Mr. D. cried out: "Oh my God, I beg you" then raised his hand to block and stepped back, picked up a stick and hit Khanh in the hand, then ran out to the garden. Khanh chased after him with a knife and slashed Mr. D. repeatedly, causing him to collapse.
When Mr. Giang saw Mr. D. being slashed, he shouted, “What’s wrong?” and threw the potted plant at Khanh. Khanh continued to chase and slash Mr. Giang with a knife. The victim slipped and fell when he ran out to the sewer, and Khanh continued to slash him repeatedly on the head, body, elbow, hand, cheekbone, etc. Mr. Giang got up and ran outside and was taken to the emergency room and treated at Nghe An General Hospital with a 45% injury rate. Meanwhile, Mr. D. held a stick and walked from the garden into the yard, then collapsed and died on the spot.
The forensic examination results concluded that the cause of death of Nguyen Kim D. was acute circulatory failure, perforated skull fracture, fracture of the left humerus and left fibula.
As for Nguyen Quoc Khanh, after committing the murder, he took a knife and fled. At 10 p.m. on May 18, Khanh turned himself in to the police and confessed to his crime.
At the trial, defendant Khanh admitted to his crime. Khanh stated that he was angry because Mr. D. had come to collect the debt several times before. The defendant also said that the fact that his ex-wife had taken 10 bags of rice without his permission when he was not at home made him angry.
The legal representative of the victim attended the trial, requesting the court to try the right person, the right crime, and request compensation for funeral expenses and mental damage.
The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were criminal and therefore required a severe punishment. Considering the entire case, the court sentenced Nguyen Quoc Khanh to life imprisonment for “Murder”. Regarding the civil part, the defendant was required to compensate the victim more than 191 million VND (deducted from the amount already compensated).
