Deadly mystery in... bicycle basket

50 years old, but this is the third time Nguyen Sy Toan, residing in Hung Dung ward, Vinh city, has appeared in court. Previously, in 2008, Toan was administratively punished for theft of property. In 2012, Nguyen Sy Toan was sentenced to 12 months in prison by Vinh city People's Court for "Theft of property". After serving his sentence for a while, Toan was arrested again for the act of "Illegal possession of drugs". An eight-month prison sentence was the price he had to pay.

After being released from prison, Toan returned to his hometown to live with his children and elderly mother. After repeated failures, this man seemed not to be afraid of the fate of “prison food and fateful clothes”. Especially after more than half of his life, Toan continued to make the same mistakes.

Subject Nguyen Sy Toan. Photo: Tran Vu

Around April 2022, while drinking sugarcane juice in the Square area, Toan met and got to know a man named Hung (unknown background and specific address). Hung asked Toan to sell 1,000 ecstasy pills for him for 90 million VND. The large amount of money made the man quickly nod in agreement.

According to the pre-arranged schedule, on the afternoon of May 3, Toan rode his bicycle to meet Hung to receive the drugs. At this time, Hung showed Toan the package of drugs placed in an empty lot in front of an alley in Vinh City. Toan took the black bag containing the drugs, put it in the basket of his bicycle and returned.

Although Toan cleverly hid the drugs under a bunch of leaves in his bicycle basket, the drug detectives discovered something unusual and approached. Realizing that he had been discovered, Nguyen Sy Toan rode his bike and ran away. After a while, he threw his bike away and ran into an alley, but the detectives caught up, knocked him down, and successfully subdued him. Checking the bicycle Toan left behind, the task force found many ecstasy pills weighing 454 grams wrapped in many layers of plastic bags, placed in the bicycle basket, and covered with leaves.

When brought to the police station, Nguyen Sy Toan initially denied his crime, but faced with the solid evidence of the investigation team, he had to bow his head and admit his guilt. Toan said that he used a bicycle to deliver goods to avoid suspicion and detection. However, Toan's previous illegal activities had fallen into the sights of the authorities. Therefore, the detectives monitored Toan's activities and noticed that every day during a certain period of time, he often left home, sometimes on a fancy SH, sometimes on a rented car. The authorities also had information that Toan would trade a large amount of drugs during the April 30 - May 1 holiday, so they closely monitored him and successfully arrested him.

Indicted and brought to trial for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking", the defendant Toan honestly admitted to his crime. The defendant admitted that he had been imprisoned many times but reoffended because of greed for money. On his third trial, Toan asked the court to consider reducing his sentence so that he could return home soon to take care of his children and elderly mother.

The defendant's stepmother shed tears as her husband's stepchild continued to go to prison. Photo: Tran Vu

It is known that Toan was divorced from his wife. Before committing the crime, the defendant lived with his stepmother, who is nearly 80 years old, and her child. The bicycle on which Toan committed the crime belonged to his elderly stepmother. The defendant asked the court to return the bicycle to his mother.

Attending the court, the gray-haired mother burst into tears when mentioning her son's crime. She asked the court to consider reducing her son's sentence. Because for her, although she did not give birth to him, for many years, she and her husband's stepchild have always relied on each other to survive.

Considering the defendant's criminal behavior as a repeat offender, the panel of judges determined that strict punishment was necessary. However, it was also necessary to consider some mitigating circumstances for the defendant such as his honest confession, repentance, and his father being awarded the First Class Resistance Medal. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced Nguyen Sy Toan to 20 years in prison for "Illegal drug trafficking". As for the person named Hung, because the defendant did not know his background or address, there was no basis for punishment.

Entering the prison gate for the third time with a 20-year sentence at the age of over 50 makes the day of his reunion with his old mother even more distant...