Murder after a late night chase between two groups of young men

On February 28, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of defendants Le Xuan Dat (born 2001) and Nguyen Cong Y (born 2002), both residing in Phuc Tho commune, Nghi Loc district (Nghe An) for the crime of "Murder".

The indictment stated that on the evening of May 25, 2022, at a lemon tea shop in Vinh City, Bui Huu TH (born 2000), residing in Do Luong District, went out for a drink with friends and had a conflict with some young men in the shop.

Afterwards, the friend who was with H. called Bui Doan Gia Huy (living in Vinh City) to come and mediate. However, when he arrived, H. thought that Huy was the one who had beaten him up, even though the other person tried to explain that it was not related. At this time, H. asked Huy to come to the lake to fight.

Gia Huy then told the story to Pham Duy Dat (born 2000), residing in Vinh City. Over the phone, Pham Duy Dat told H. to go to another location to "settle the matter".

At this time, H. also called a few more friends, including Nguyen Dang Tien Dat and Nguyen Thai Quang, to come to the meeting place to resolve the conflict.

Late that night, when Pham Duy Dat's group including Le Xuan Dat, Nguyen Cong Y... were standing in front of the tattoo shop, they saw H's group moving on the street. At this time, Le Xuan Dat took a motorbike and carried Y, carrying weapons, chasing H's group.

When Le Xuan Dat's car caught up with H.'s car, Y grabbed a knife and slashed at the car. Seeing Y swing the knife at him, Nguyen Dang Tien Dat swerved his car to the right to avoid it and fell onto the road.

As a result, H. died after 2 days of emergency treatment, 2 people in the same car were injured. Among them, Nguyen Thai Quang suffered 80% health damage.

After learning of H.'s death, Nguyen Cong Y went to the police station to surrender and confess his crime.

At the first instance trial in April 2023, the People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Le Xuan Dat and Nguyen Cong Y each to 20 years in prison for "Murder".

On August 16, 2023, the Hanoi High People's Court of Appeal overturned the first instance judgment for reinvestigation on the grounds of clarifying the actions of Pham Duy Dat and other related subjects to avoid letting criminals and criminals escape; ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of the victims.

At the trial on February 28, Le Xuan Dat and Y confessed to the crimes as charged in the indictment. The two defendants admitted to chasing at high speed and then using a knife to slash the victim's car, causing the accident. The defendants expressed remorse and asked the court to consider reducing their sentences.

The lawyer protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the victim requested the panel of judges to reconsider the contents as stated in the appeal court.

The representative of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province, exercising the right to prosecute at the trial, presented evidence and argued that the investigation agency had conducted investigative activities such as confrontation, searching for physical evidence, extracting camera footage, and recording statements of related people, but could not prove the role of Pham Duy Dat as an accomplice in mentally supporting the two defendants in committing the crime.

The remaining young men gathered in a crowd, then held weapons and chased H's group. However, the investigation determined that these people did not shout or obstruct traffic. It was late at night and the road was deserted, so there was no behavior that affected public order.

After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel sentenced Le Xuan Dat and Nguyen Cong Y each to 20 years in prison for "Murder".

Regarding the civil part, the court ordered each defendant to compensate the legal representative of the victim H. more than 212 million VND and compensate Mr. Quang 113 million VND.