Criticized for not singing well, man threw bowl at neighbor's face, causing 49% injury

On August 7, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened an appeal trial of defendant Vu Van Phap (born 1974), residing in Trung Thanh commune (old), now Quang Thanh commune, Nghe An, for the crime of "Intentionally causing injury".

According to the case file, at around 9:15 p.m. on September 21, 2024, Vu Van Phap went to his neighbor's house to attend a party. After singing on stage, Phap went down to the table to eat porridge when Mr. Vu Van Tr. (born in 1966), a relative and neighbor, came over and said: "You don't sing well, your father, your mother."

Hearing that, Phap responded: "My father is dead, stop cursing" and threatened to punch him in the face. Not stopping there, Phap also blamed Mr. Tr. for cursing many times so this time he was no longer respectful.

As soon as he finished speaking, Phap picked up a bowl on the tray and threw it at Mr. Tr.'s face, causing injuries to his forehead, right eyebrow, bridge of the nose, and right eye. Afterwards, Mr. Tr. was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

On October 16, 2024, Mr. Tr. submitted a request for an assessment of the disability rate and at the same time, requested to prosecute Vu Van Phap for "Intentional Infliction of Injury". The investigation agency determined that the victim's physical injury was 49%.

For the crime of "Intentionally causing injury", Vu Van Phap was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison by the People's Court of Yen Thanh district, and at the same time, the defendant was required to compensate the victim more than 182 million VND.

The defendant then appealed for a reduced sentence, while the victim also appealed for an increased prison sentence and increased civil compensation.

At the trial, both sides maintained their appeals. Defendant Phap stated that the victim had cursed at him first and had used inappropriate words. Not only that, the victim had also intentionally insulted the deceased relative of the defendant. Out of anger, the defendant threw the bowl at the victim's face, but there was no intentional act.

Meanwhile, the victim stated that the defendant's behavior was hooliganism when he threw a bowl at her face, causing many injuries. The defendant's behavior caused mental damage to the victim, therefore, requested an increase in civil compensation.

The defendant expressed remorse for his crime. After the first instance trial, the defendant persuaded the family to pay the victim all the money.

The defendant presented his family's difficult circumstances, his own serious illness, and his father being awarded the Resistance Medal by the State, asking the court to consider reducing his sentence.

The appellate court determined that the defendant’s remorse and active compensation to the victim were mitigating circumstances that needed to be considered. Therefore, the court accepted the defendant’s appeal and sentenced Vu Van Phap to 2 years and 6 months in prison. Regarding the civil part, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim 350 million VND (deducted from the amount already compensated).