Murder behind the tea hill

Murder, robbery to "pay debt"

On the afternoon of May 24, 2017, Anh Son District Police received a report from some people in Hamlet 9, Cam Son Commune, Anh Son District that while working in the fields, they discovered the body of a man. The unfortunate victim collapsed and died next to the tea hill and his body had many wounds.

Immediately, the authorities sealed off the scene and opened an investigation. The victim was identified as Mr. Nguyen Van S. (born in 1971; residing in Dai Son commune, Do Luong district). The autopsy showed that Mr. Son died from being stabbed 9 times on his body. The first suspicious point that caught the eyes of the detectives was that the motorbike and a large amount of money on Mr. Son had disappeared from the scene.

The body of the unfortunate victim was discovered on a tea hill in Cam Son commune, Anh Son district. Photo: HSVA

Assessing this as a robbery murder case, detectives used professional measures to isolate and screen suspects.

After 4 hours of investigation, the district and commune police arrested suspect Tran Huu Dung (born 1981; residing in Dinh Son commune, Anh Son district) to the surprise of many witnesses, because Dung and the victim had only known each other for 3 days, and could not have had such hatred that they had to commit such a cruel act.

At the investigation agency, Dung bowed his head and confessed: Due to continuous business losses, Dung borrowed money to revive his family's economy, but the situation did not improve, causing his debts to pile up. With creditors constantly demanding payment, he thought of every way to have money to pay. Through relationships, Dung became acquainted and became a "broker" for buffaloes and cows for Mr. S. to get commission after each brokerage. During the times he went with Mr. S. to trade buffaloes and cows, seeing that Mr. S. had a lot of money (used to buy and sell buffaloes and cows), Dung had the idea of ​​killing Mr. S. to get money to pay off his debt.

At around 4am on May 24, 2017, Dung got up to go buy buffalo and cows with Mr. S. Before leaving, Dung took a hidden knife with him. At around 7am, Mr. S. drove a motorbike with Dung to look for buffalo and cows to buy in Cam Son commune, Anh Son district.

The two went to Mr. Lo Van Tam's house in Nhon Tai village, Cam Son commune. After seeing and liking the buffalo, Mr. S. bought it from Mr. Tam for 21.5 million VND but did not lead it yet. Mr. S. continued to take Dung to find more buffaloes and cows to buy.

Subject Tran Huu Dung when arrested. Documentary photo

While passing through the tea hill area in Tan Tien village (Cam Son commune, Anh Son district), taking advantage of the lack of people passing by, Dung took out a knife and stabbed Mr. S. in the body. Being stabbed unexpectedly, Mr. S. panicked and let go of the steering wheel, causing the vehicle and the person to fall down. Although Mr. S. had run away, Dung still tried to chase after him, coldly stabbing him many times, causing Mr. S. to die on the spot.

Seeing Mr. S. collapsed in a pool of blood, Dung searched his pocket, took out his phone and 3.3 million VND, then took his motorbike and ran away. On the way, Dung thought of the money that Mr. S. had paid Mr. Tam that morning, so he rode his motorbike to his house. He tricked Mr. Tam that Mr. S. was in an accident, needed money for emergency treatment, and was currently unable to take the buffalo home, so he asked for the money he had paid back. To gain Mr. Tam's trust and avoid suspicion, he deposited 2.5 million VND with Mr. Tam, promising "After Mr. S. gets better, he will come back to pay and take the buffalo home." Thinking it was real, Mr. Tam gave Dung 19 million VND. At that time, Tran Huu Dung probably could not have imagined that not only would the unfortunate victim suffer an unjust death, but that what followed would be a series of tragedies that would cause many people to suffer...

After committing the crime, Dung called his mother and said, "I killed someone." After hearing this, his mother did not say anything and hung up. After calling back many times without getting through, he sensed something was wrong, so Dung ran home and saw his wife holding the baby in the yard. Dung asked, "Where is mom?" Dung's wife pointed to the pond behind the house. Dung ran out and saw his mother in a daze, gradually fading away. After asking many times, the mother whispered that she had committed suicide by drinking rat poison. Panicked, Dung took his mother to the emergency room at Con Cuong District Hospital. When the doctors and nurses there treated her, Dung's mother was out of danger. He returned to his rented room in Cam Son commune to get some belongings and was arrested by the police.

Tragedy of two women

On October 19, 2017, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance trial of defendant Tran Huu Dung on the following charges:killing, robbery and fraud. The court was packed with attendees, but most were relatives of the victim, while the defendant had absolutely no relatives.

The court was packed with attendees, most of whom were family members and friends of the victim. File photo

The mother was so shocked by her son’s cruel and inhumane behavior that she committed suicide by using rat poison. Thanks to timely emergency treatment, she survived the critical stage, but because her health had not yet recovered, she did not attend the trial.

Tran Huu Dung's young wife, with two small children, after Dung was arrested, she took her children back to her parents' house and did not appear in court. Standing in the dock, he coldly recounted the process of committing his crime in the choked voices of the victim's relatives. Dung said that the reason for his crime was because of debt and poverty, so he acted recklessly. Dung did not intend to take Mr. S's life, but could not explain why when the victim ran away, he still chased after him and stabbed him many times, causing his death.

This is the third time Tran Huu Dung has been in court. Previously, in May 2003, Dung was sentenced by the Thanh Liem District People's Court (Ha Nam) to 6 months in prison for "Violating regulations on road traffic control", without serving the sentence. In December 2003, Dung was sentenced by the Tuong Duong District People's Court to 30 months in prison for "Theft of property".

At the trial, Dung could only cover his face and bow his head to the ground. Photo: Archive

When given the last word, Tran Huu Dung bowed his head to apologize to the victim's family, asked for forgiveness, and hoped the jury would reduce his sentence so that he would have a chance to live and make amends to the family and the victim.

The Trial Panel determined that Tran Huu Dung's criminal acts were particularly serious, committing multiple crimes at the same time such as "Murder", "Robbery", "Fraudulent appropriation of property"; his personal history was bad, no longer worth reforming, and he needed to be permanently removed from society. Therefore, the Trial Panel sentenced Tran Huu Dung to death for "Murder", 6 years in prison for "Robbery", and 2 years in prison for "Fraudulent appropriation of property". In total, defendant Tran Huu Dung must serve the death penalty.

Tran Huu Dung at the trial. Photo archive

Regarding civil liability, defendant Dung must compensate the victim's family 163 million VND and provide for the upbringing of Mr. S's two children, each 1.5 million VND/month.