Murder from a shoulder collision and the tragedy of two families

Brought to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for trial on the charge of murder on April 3, Nguyen Manh Cuong (22 years old) looked quite sullen.

Tall and big, with his head bowed, Cuong confessed that on the afternoon of April 30, 2016, he and a group of friends went to a karaoke bar in Trung Chanh commune, Hoc Mon district. While paying at the counter, Cuong was bumped on the shoulder by Yen, so he turned to ask, "Why didn't you apologize for bumping into someone?"

Because Yen did not say anything and went straight upstairs, Cuong and his friends chased after him and beat him. He then pulled out a knife and stabbed Yen in the chest, causing the victim to collapse on the spot. After committing the crime, Cuong fled to Vung Tau. The victim was taken to the emergency room but died.

Looking regretful, Cuong said becauseUnable to control behavior, he committed a crime in a moment.

Holding her husband's portrait, sitting silently throughout the trial, Mr. Yen's wife looked distraught. She said that since her husband passed away, her family's life has been in a deadlock because Mr. Yen was the breadwinner. Not only did she suffer a great loss mentally, she and her two young children could not make ends meet on her meager salary. She asked Cuong to compensate for the loss and provide for the children at one time, totaling more than 600 million VND.

Present in court, Cuong's father looked miserable. Cuong was the eldest son, and due to his family's financial difficulties, he only studied until 7th grade and then stayed home to help his parents.

He expressed concern at the victim’s family’s request. He said that although his son was an adult and had to take responsibility for the consequences, he and his wife still wanted to share the loss with the victim’s family. Therefore, they had collected and borrowed money many times and then, on behalf of Cuong, went to Yen’s family to compensate them with 95 million VND.

The panel of judges determined that Cuong's actions were extremely hooliganism, and that the consequences were extremely serious because of a small collision. Due to some mitigating circumstances such as surrendering, the family having partially compensated for the damage... the court sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison, ordered him to compensate Yen's family more than 140 million VND and provide 2 million VND in monthly allowances for the victim's children./.