Murder from a debt of just over 1 million dong

The fatal stab

On the morning of September 20, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Tran Quang Hung (born 1990), residing in Dien My commune, Dien Chau district, for the crime of "murder".

According to the indictment, Mr. Hoang Thanh Tra (residing in Dien Hoang commune, Dien Chau district) owed Truong Nhu Ngoc (residing in Dien My commune, Dien Chau district) 1,600,000 VND. Mr. Tra made an appointment with Ngoc on the evening of January 22, 2018, to be present at a cafe in Dien My commune to pay the debt. That evening, Ngoc went to Hung's brother's house to drink alcohol, after drinking alcohol, Ngoc invited Hung to go collect the debt.

Defendant Tran Quang Hung. Photo: Phuong Thao

When they met, Tra took out his wallet, took out the money he owed Ngoc and put it on the table. Ngoc collected the money on the table and complained about Tra's attitude in paying. Tra and Ngoc argued.

Seeing that, Hung immediately took a stick from the trunk of his motorbike and hit Tra. Being beaten, Tra and another person named Lieu took out knives and chased after him. Hung and a few people in his group immediately ran away.

Hung then went to a blacksmith shop to get a knife and returned to the shop to meet the people who had beaten him. When he learned that Tra was at Lieu’s house, Hung rode his motorbike there. At that time, Tra was sitting drinking water with some people.

Seeing Hung running towards them with a knife, everyone ran away, except Tra. Hung stabbed Tra many times with the knife. Lieu came out of the house and saw this. He quickly helped Tra into the bedroom and locked the door. Hung still tried to break the door to get in. Only when he saw the police arrive did Hung run away.

Mr. Tra was taken to the emergency room by everyone but died due to the severity of his injuries. Tran Quang Hung later surrendered to the Dien Chau district police and handed over the knife used as the murder weapon.

The pain of those left behind

Before the trial this morning, the defendant’s family paid 115 million VND in compensation to the victim’s family. The victim’s wife also filed a petition to reduce the defendant’s sentence and did not request any further compensation. However, the pain of losing a child made the victim’s father, over 70 years old, unable to avoid being emotional; his voice weak and hoarse, he blamed the defendant’s family.

While the jury was deliberating, the courtroom became chaotic with the curses and insults of the defendant's family. The defendant's mother could not contain her emotions, thinking that the day her son would return home was still very long, her haggard face was filled with tears. She cried and accused the victim's father of being "too much" because her family had already paid compensation.

Hearing that, the victim's old father had tears in his eyes, his hands trembling as he held his son's portrait, he choked up, "Your son is still alive, you can still see him, touch him. As for me, I can only see him on the altar..."

The victim's elderly father attended the trial of the man who murdered his son. Photo: Phuong Thao

The pain of fathers and mothers after their children's mistakes, they argued with each other but each word they spoke seemed to pour out their hearts. Witnessing that heartbreaking scene, Tran Quang Hung could only bow his head in regret. Perhaps at that moment, in Hung's mind appeared a series of "if onlys"...

After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison and ordered him to pay alimony to the victim's elderly father and two young children, each of whom is 1.5 million VND/month.