Family tragedy sends young girl to prison for drugs

Come to my house and accept to "deliver" drugs

Among the three defendants recently brought to trial by the People's Court of Nghe An province for the crime of illegal drug trafficking, the young face of defendant Tran Thi Hien Luong (17 years old), residing in Tan Son commune, Quynh Luu district, made many people feel sorry. Because she was still a minor, on the day of the court appearance, defendant Luong's parents were also under her guardianship. Seeing their young child in court, the couple could only look at their child in silence. But as if wanting to avoid her parents' eyes, Luong sat huddled, often looking down.

Tran Thi Hien Luong grew up in a dysfunctional family. When Luong was a toddler, her parents decided to go their separate ways because they did not get along. At first, Luong lived with her father. However, later, because she loved her grandchild, her grandmother took Luong to the rice-growing district of Yen Thanh to take care of him.

Defendant Tran Thi Hien Luong in court. Photo: Tran Vu

Her grandmother was old and busy with work, so she could not take care of Luong's life. Her stubborn adolescence and lack of close attention from adults made Luong difficult to manage. After finishing 10th grade, Luong decided to quit school despite being advised by her relatives to continue. After dropping out of school, this girl followed some friends to work for hire. At one point, Luong worked as an employee at a coffee shop.

Around the end of 2019, through friends, Luong got to know the couple Hoang Tam Dac (born in 1976) and Nguyen Thi Lien (born in 1988), residing in Duc Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district - the two defendants in the case. Luong visited Dac and Lien's house many times to eat and stay. Then, it was this relationship that pushed Luong into prison.

According to defendant Luong's testimony in court: On February 23, 2020, the defendant went to the house of Dac and Lien to play and then stayed overnight. At noon the next day, during lunch, Lien showed the defendant where the drugs were hidden and said, "When someone buys drugs, I will take the goods and give them to you so you can deliver them to the customer." Luong agreed.

On the same afternoon, when receiving a message from Lien asking her to bring drugs to Cau Giat town, Quynh Luu district for the couple to sell to customers, Luong took 60 pink pills wrapped in plastic bags and took a motorbike to the location as instructed. However, when Luong arrived at Dien Yen commune, Dien Chau district, he was arrested by the police along with the evidence. Based on Luong's statement, the police investigation agency conducted an emergency search of Nguyen Thi Lien and Hoang Tam Dac's houses and seized the remaining drugs.

The investigation agency determined that in this case, Hoang Tam Dac was the one who directly purchased the drugs and directed his wife, the defendant Lien, and Luong to participate in drug trafficking activities. Lien participated as an accomplice, assisting Dac in drug trafficking activities. Therefore, Dac and Lien must bear criminal responsibility for the act of buying and selling 50.35 grams of drugs. Luong participated as an accomplice to Dac and his wife in buying and selling 6.2 grams of drugs.

Father's advice

In court, the defendant Luong cried many times when the panel of judges mentioned his relatives. The defendant stated that because he lived in an incomplete family, he lacked the care and guidance of adults. "The defendant was wrong. The defendant is still young, please give the defendant a chance to correct his mistakes," Luong stated in court. Regarding the drug trafficking, Luong stated that he was asked by Lien and his wife, and out of courtesy, he gave them the drugs. Before doing so, Lien and his wife did not promise to give the defendant any money.

Speaking in court, the defendant's parents were in tears. The father accepted part of the responsibility for not paying enough attention to his child and letting him hang out with bad friends. The man said: “My wife and I lived together for about 2 years and then broke up because we were not compatible. Due to circumstances, the child went to live with his grandparents. A few years ago, his grandfather passed away, leaving only his grandmother, so he could not take care of him closely. When I heard that he had dropped out of school, I also encouraged and comforted him, hoping that he would go back to school, but he did not agree. For this to happen, it was also the parents' fault for not paying enough attention and giving them guidance. We accept responsibility. Now, we only hope that the jury will consider and reduce the sentence to give the child a chance to start his life over, he is still too young.”

The three defendants Lien - Dac - Luong in court. Photo: Tran Vu

Looking at his crying daughter, the father also sent words of encouragement: “Dad hopes that when you return, you will live a good life, not compete or compete. Just live a good life like everyone else. Wherever you fall, get up and start your life over again, your future is ahead of you.” Hearing his father’s words, Luong raised his immature hands to wipe away his tears.

As for the defendants Dac and Lien, both admitted their crimes in court. Dac said that because his business was losing money, he could not recover his losses even though he had mortgaged some of his assets. Therefore, he decided to go into drug trafficking. From some "gangsters" in Yen Thanh district, he found a source to buy drugs. His purpose was to sell them for profit. Nguyen Thi Lien - defendant Dac's wife knew about her husband's wrongdoings, but instead of stopping him, she became his right-hand man. Now, both of them have to appear in court, leaving behind three young children for their elderly parents to take care of.

For the crime of illegal drug trafficking, Hoang Tam Dac was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while his wife Nguyen Thi Lien received a 10-year prison sentence; Defendant Tran Thi Hien Luong received 2 years in prison./.