The tragedy of choosing the wrong friend

Due to his playful nature and love of showing off, Nguyen Quoc Duong committed a serious crime against his best friend.

Throughout the trial held at the Ha Tinh People's Court, defendant Nguyen Quoc Duong (22 years old), head bowed in the dock, mumbled about the murder of his best friend, dumping the body in the river and covering it with duckweed to hide the evidence. There were no more empty seats in the hall, many relatives of the defendant and the victim could not go inside, and had to stand and watch the trial through the window.

According to the verdict of the Ha Tinh People's Court on November 30, on the evening of June 26, Duong invited his close friend Doan Van Tuan (living in the same commune) to go to Ha Tinh city to play. Early the next morning, when they arrived at Thach Linh ward, the two turned into Trung Linh dike to smoke. Many times, he asked Tuan to sell his motorbike for money but was refused, so Duong murdered his friend, dumped the body in the Dong river, covered it with duckweed, sold the motorbike for five million VND to go out with his girlfriend.

Crowds of people gathered at the court gate to watch the trial. Photo: Duc Hung

At the trial, Duong stated that due to his playful nature and love of showing off, he committed a serious crime against his close friend. The defendant said that his greed overcame his reason, and at that time he only thought about how to make money, so he blindly acted. Now, thinking back on the crime he committed, he shudders.

Sitting behind, the defendant's parents looked exhausted, explaining that since their son committed the crime, their spirits had collapsed and they did not want to go out and face people. Although they were neighbors with the victim's parents, the two families no longer interacted, and when facing each other in court, they could not say a word to each other, their faces always heavy.

The grandparents said that the family's finances were tight, and they had saved 30 million VND and sent it to Tuan's family to cover funeral expenses. They knew this amount was very small, but they really wanted to share the pain that nothing could compensate for.

Duong heard his parents' words and was filled with tears, thinking that the two were long-time friends, and that they had no intention of killing their friend at first, but only wanted to rob him of his property. After much persuasion, seeing that Tuan did not listen to her, she became angry.

"The case took place according to the defendant's intention and ambition. The idea of ​​killing his friend to rob his property was not sudden, but was a pre-planned act. This act was a deliberate act of committing the crime, not a spontaneous act," the judge asked. Duong was silent, glancing at the victim's portrait in the hall.

Tuan's family representative shared that since losing their son, his parents have been devastated. Tuan was gentle, quiet, and did not study well, so the family planned to let him work for hire to earn money to support his future life. Unexpectedly, they chose the wrong friend, causing such a great tragedy.

Hearing the victim's family speak, Duong turned back to apologize, hoping to be forgiven so he could soon atone for some of the mistakes he had made.

The victim's family said that as neighbors who helped each other in times of need, they were very remorseful and felt sorry for Duong's parents when the court imposed the severe punishment, it was like the pain of losing their own child. However, in court, Duong showed no remorse, they requested strict punishment and full compensation for the material and mental losses.

Defendant Duong was escorted to a van by police. Photo: Duc Hung

The panel of judges determined that, with his greed, selfishness, disregard for the law, and determination to commit the crime to the end, Duong needed to be isolated from society for a long time to realize his mistakes. The defendant had mitigating circumstances because his grandparents had previously contributed to the state.

Sentenced to life in prison for two crimes: Murder and Robbery, Duong was silent, head down, walking quickly as the police escorted him to the van, only having time to look back at his parents who were standing blankly in the middle of the court yard in the cold early winter weather.

According to VNE