He took a knife and stabbed his nephew after a drinking session.

On December 15, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a trial for defendant Ha Van Duc (52 years old), residing in Chau Nga commune, Quy Chau district, for the crime of "Murder". Duc and the victim had an uncle-niece relationship.

According to the indictment, at noon on June 8, Vi Van Kh. (36 years old) returned from work far away, so he brought a bottle of wine to Duc's house and invited him to drink. The two drank from noon until afternoon, when Kh. got drunk and fell asleep, while Duc went to the kitchen to cook rice.

Defendant Ha Van Duc. Photo: Tran Vu

A moment later, Duc heard his nephew talking and thought he was being scolded. When he asked him but got no response, he took a machete and went upstairs, slashing many times at the face, stomach, and arms of his sleeping nephew.

After being slashed in pain, Mr. Kh. woke up, screamed and rushed to hug Duc. After that, the victim ran away and collapsed at the foot of the stairs.

Mr. Kh. was taken to the emergency room with 28 injuries. Authorities determined that the percentage of bodily damage caused by injuries at the time of Mr. Kh.'s examination was 55%.

As for the perpetrator, on June 9, Ha Van Duc was arrested by the police. The Nghe An Provincial Police Department decided to request a psychiatric assessment of Duc. The results showed that before, during, and after committing the crime and at the time of the assessment, Duc suffered from mental and behavioral disorders due to alcohol use, limiting his cognitive ability and ability to control his behavior.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime as charged in the indictment. The victim said that the defendant's actions were due to the influence of alcohol, because the two had no previous conflicts. The victim asked the court to consider reducing the defendant's sentence.

After considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Ha Van Duc to 8 years in prison for murder.