Couple used grenades to escape at police

After the trial was postponed in mid-March, on April 6, the Hanoi People's Court reopened the trial of Pham Van Chung (born in 1991, residing in Vu Le commune, Bac Son district, Lang Son) on charges of "Murder", "Illegal drug trafficking" and "Illegal possession of military weapons".

And at the end of this trial, the first instance panel decided to sentence Pham Van Chung to 14 years in prison for “Murder”, 17 years in prison for “Illegal drug trafficking” and 2 years in prison for “Illegal possession of military weapons”. The total sentence for all 3 crimes is 30 years in prison.

In connection with the case, Mai Kim Anh (Chung’s girlfriend; born in 1992, residing in Bac Son town, Bac Son district, Lang Son) was also sentenced to 14 years in prison for “Illegal drug trafficking” and 6 months in prison for “Failure to report a crime”. The total sentence for both crimes is 14 years and 6 months in prison. This female defendant was released on bail because she is raising a young child.

Pham Van Chung and accomplices at trial.

The case shows that in February 2017, Pham Van Chung and Mai Kim Anh met a woman named Thuy, residing in Son Tay town, Hanoi. On February 22, 2017, Thuy called Chung and asked him to sell her 300 grams of crystal meth for more than 90 million VND.

Accepting the drug supply, the very next day, Chung went to Chi Ma border gate (Lang Son) to buy the exact amount of "crystal meth" mentioned above from an unknown person for 26 million VND/100 grams, then brought it home to hide.

On the afternoon of February 24, 2017, Chung “led” a grenade and invited his girlfriend Mai Kim Anh to go with him to trade drugs in Son Tay town. That night, he met Thuy but was told that the drugs were not of guaranteed quality, so Chung and his girlfriend had to angrily take a taxi back to Lang Son.

On the way back, at around 12:00 a.m. on February 24, 2017, on Highway 32, in Son Tay town, the taxi carrying Chung and his girlfriend was inspected by the police. While barricading himself in the taxi, the subject pulled out a grenade to threaten them, then suddenly opened the car door and fled.

Being fiercely pursued by the police, Chung ran and pulled the pin out of the grenade and threw it at the police behind him. However, fortunately, this weapon that could have killed many people did not explode.

Brought to trial, Chung admitted to the crimes he was charged with. Regarding the grenade thrown at the police, the suspect admitted that he had previously purchased it from a stranger. The results of the examination also showed that the grenade the defendant used to attack the police was a military weapon.

As an accomplice in the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”, Mai Kim Anh also admitted that when she was invited to Son Tay town to trade drugs, the defendant was fully aware that this was illegal and knew that her boyfriend was carrying a “hot” weapon but did not report it.