Death sentence for two fishermen who murdered a man and robbed his fishing boat.

On August 30th, after deliberation, the first-instance panel of judges of the Kien Giang Provincial People's Court concluded that Nguyen Van Tinh and Pham Tuat Linh were beyond rehabilitation and therefore needed to be permanently isolated from society.

Defendants Nguyen Van Tinh (left) and Pham Tuat Linh (right) listen as the court pronounces the sentence - Photo: K.NAM

According to the indictment, on October 14, 2016, the two defendants, Nguyen Van Tinh (24 years old, from Kien Giang) and Pham Tuat Linh (26 years old, from Vinh Long), threatened and coerced Nguyen Thanh Nhin (who was only 13 years old at the time) to participate in killing the boat owner to steal his property.

Tình and Linh planned to invite Mr. Nguyen Van Tu, the owner and captain of fishing vessel BT-93574.TS, along with Mr. Trang Phuoc Hau, a cook on board, to a drinking party while the ship was anchored in the waters bordering Vietnam and Malaysia.

After drinking, Tình took out two knives and a sharp pair of scissors he had concealed on his person, giving one to Linh and one to Nhịn, and instructed them both to kill Mr. Tứ and Mr. Hậu in order to rob the ship.

After assigning tasks, Tinh and Linh stormed into the cockpit and stabbed Mr. Tu multiple times in the chest and abdomen, killing him instantly. They then threw his body into the sea to conceal the crime.

Then, seeing Hau near the cockpit, Tinh and Linh stabbed him multiple times, causing him to fall into the sea. Fearing Hau was not completely dead, Tinh and Linh jumped in after him and continued to attack until they were sure Hau was dead before climbing back onto the ship.

After committing the murder, the three sailed their fishing boat to the waters off Nam Du (Kien Giang province) to sell the oil and some other stolen items, earning 19.4 million VND.

Next, Tinh and Linh used a hammer to drill holes in the ship's deck and forced Nhin to swim to An Son Island in Kien Hai district to rent a room, planning to buy a ferry ticket back to the mainland the next morning.

That same night, while patrolling the waters off Nam Du, authorities in Kien Giang province discovered a half-submerged, half-floating vessel drifting near the shore. The deck had numerous bloodstains, indicating suspicious activity.

Authorities immediately cordoned off the entire island surrounding the location where the shipwreck was discovered and detained three suspects: Tinh, Linh, and Nhin.

During the investigation, Tinh and Linh confessed to all their crimes. Nhin, being only 13 years old and forced into the act, was not prosecuted.

Because the incident occurred far offshore, the bodies of the two victims, Nguyen Van Tu and Trang Phuoc Hau, have yet to be found.

According to Tuoi Tre