Arguing about paying for drinking, 3 young men get in trouble with the law

During the trial held at the Ha Tinh People’s Court in mid-August, Nguyen Van Quynh and two others repeatedly put their heads down on the chair. All three had beaten their friend, causing 34% health damage, while drunk.In the hall, many people sighed, regretting the young people who got into trouble with the law because of a moment of impulsiveness.

According to the verdict, at around 2 p.m. on January 10, Quynh, Tran Dinh Nhat (20 years old), and Tran Van Con (18 years old, all residing in Cam Linh commune) were drinking alcohol at a dog meat restaurant in Cam Loc commune (Cam Xuyen district). A while later, Tran Van Vu and Nguyen Tien Nghia (23 years old) joined in.

At 4 p.m. the same day, after getting drunk, Nhat and Nghia argued over who would pay for their drinks. After a while of struggling, the two got into an argument. Thinking that Nghia was looking down on her friend by demanding to pay, Quynh grabbed a beer bottle and hit him. When people tried to stop him, Nghia got on his motorbike and left.

After a while, Mr. Nghia returned to the shop, feeling indignant, and asked Nhat's group why he was beaten even though he had offered to pay. Seeing this, Nhat, Con, and Quynh rushed in, punching, kicking, and using an iron pipe to hit Nghia on the head, causing serious injuries and requiring him to be hospitalized.

In court, Nhat stated that the drinking party that day cost 595,000 VND. According to the group's rules, Nhat was supposed to be the host, meaning that the guest, when arriving late, should just sit still. Intervening to demand payment for the drinking was disrespectful and made everyone upset.

"Seeing Nghia pay, the defendant told the shop owner to leave everything to him, but his friend refused, and the two argued with the shop owner. The defendant said, 'You paid a few coins but you treat everyone like shit.' Then, someone in the group came to get money from both sides to pay," Nhat said.

The chairman asked: "Both sides contributed money for the drinking party, why did they argue and fight?" Quynh replied, because everyone was upset with Nghia's attitude, there was an agreement during the drinking party, you also heard it. Nghia's paying was an intentional attempt to provoke the whole group.

With trembling hands, Quynh said that when Nghia turned back to ask why he was beaten after paying, the group was a bit tipsy and couldn't control themselves so they beat their friend. "The defendant used an iron rod to hit Nghia on the head, causing injury. I really don't understand why I hit him so hard," Quynh said.

Seeing the two seniors clearly explain the crime, Con sat below with his hands clasped together, his head bowed. "The defendant could not control his actions, the incident happened unexpectedly, that argument was really pointless," Con said then glanced down at where the victim's family was sitting, hoping for forgiveness.

"The defendants are still very young. At this age, if they don't go to school anymore, they should be working hard to earn money. If they keep drinking and causing trouble, what will their future be like? How will parents feel when they see their children in trouble with the law for such a trivial reason?" a judge asked, but no one answered.

Given the last word, the three defendants folded their arms, bowed their heads, and whispered, hoping everyone would forgive them and overlook this huge mistake so they could stand up after their impulsive moments.

The People's Court found that Nhat initiated the incident and sentenced him to 3 years and 9 months in prison, Quynh to 3 years and 6 months in prison, and Con to 2 years and 6 months in prison, suspended, for the same crime.Intentional injuryAfter committing the crime, the defendants' families compensated the victims 150 million VND.

Leaving the court with their prison sentences, the three defendants, bewildered, walked quickly after the police. Behind them, the poor farmer parents could only sob, wipe away their tears, and advise their children to reform so that when they return, they will not repeat the mistakes they made.