Stabbed neighbor to death over forest land dispute

The High People's Court in Hanoi has just opened an appeal trial of defendant Nguyen Van Ha (51 years old), residing in Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district, for the crime of murder. The trial was opened at the People's Court of Nghe An province after receiving a petition.appealof the defendant and the victim.

There was a dispute over forestry land between Nguyen Van Ha and Mr. Dang Quang Q. (born 1973), so the two sides often argued and destroyed each other's crops.

On the morning of December 15, 2022, Ha hired someone to use an excavator to dig the land to plant cassava. This land area was determined to be legally owned by Ha. When the incident was discovered, Q. forbade it, so the two sides had a conflict.

Being chased and beaten by Q., Ha ran back to the camp and reported the incident to the local authorities. Afterwards, the commune police instructed Ha to write a complaint.

Ha asked his wife to write a petition and then returned to the disputed area, but Q. continued to chase and beat Ha with a knife and then returned to plant stakes to make a fence.

At around 2:20 p.m. the same day, Ha took a knife to the disputed land area and saw Mr. Q. still driving stakes. Ha asked Mr. Q. to stop and wait for the commune to resolve the matter, but this man did not stop. Ha pulled up some bamboo stakes that Mr. Q. had just driven down when this man threw two pieces of wood at her shoulder. Ha ran away, but Mr. Q. chased after him and threw a knife at Ha.

Nguyen Van Ha turned around and stabbed Mr. Q. in the neck and chest, causing his death. After committing the crime, Ha turned himself in to the police.

The court of first instance sentenced defendant Nguyen Van Ha to 10 years in prison for murder. In civil matters, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim's representative 205 million (minus 104 million already compensated).

The defendant then filed an appeal requesting a reduction in sentence. The victim's representative also filed an appeal requesting an increase in sentence for the defendant.

At the trial, defendant Ha stated that despite his difficult circumstances, after the first instance trial ended, he had influenced his family to compensate the victim’s family an additional 15 million VND. The defendant expressed remorse and wished to have his sentence reduced so that he could soon have a chance to start his life over.

Meanwhile, the victim's representative argued that the court of first instance had not considered the defendant's aggravating circumstances. Therefore, the victim's representative requested the court to increase the defendant's sentence.

After the trial, the appellate court determined that the first instance verdict was appropriate. At this trial, the two sides did not present any new details, so the panel of judges rejected the appeals of the defendant and the victim, upholding the 10-year prison sentence for Nguyen Van Ha for murder.