Just one glance, and the conflict led to a heartbreaking murder.
Believing that the woman who came to visit kept staring at him, Nguyen Duy On yelled at her, leading to a conflict between the two. When the woman's husband hit him, On conceived a plan for revenge and used scissors to stab Mr. T in the eye.
On June 11th, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first-instance trial of defendant Nguyen Duy On (born in 1999), residing in Hau Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district (Nghe An province), on the charge of murder.
Around mid-February 2024, Nguyen Duy On was at home when Ms. Nguyen Thi D. (a relative) came to visit, and a conflict and argument ensued between them.
A little later, when On went down to the kitchen area to get a knife to cut meat, Ms. D. thought On was going to stab her with the knife, so she called her husband, Mr. Nguyen Van T. (born in 1985). After his wife's distress call, Mr. T. came over and punched On in the face and chest.
Three months later, Wen, still resentful about being beaten by Mr. T, harbored thoughts of revenge. On May 23rd and 24th, 2024, Wen went to Mr. T's house with scissors, intending to stab him in retaliation. However, seeing that Mr. T had visitors, he turned back.
At approximately 8 PM on May 25, 2024, after finishing dinner, On continued to ride his bicycle to Mr. T's house, carrying a pair of sharp scissors. Seeing Mr. T lying on a folding chair and using his phone under a banyan tree in front of the house, On approached and stabbed Mr. T in the right eye with the scissors. Afterwards, On pulled out the scissors, simultaneously cursing and threatening to kill him.
Regarding the victim, despite being taken to several hospitals for emergency treatment, due to the severity of his injuries, Mr. T. died on July 20, 2024, from respiratory and circulatory failure caused by a penetrating eye injury, a fractured skull leading to brain edema, and brain hemorrhage.
Subsequently, authorities conducted a psychiatric evaluation of Nguyen Duy On, concluding that before, during, and after committing the crime, On suffered from mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of hallucinogenic substances, resulting in psychotic episodes.
At the trial, the defendant testified that he was upset because Ms. D. kept staring at him when she came to his house, and then he was beaten by her husband, which led him to plot revenge.
The defendant's relatives presented evidence of Wen's mental illness to request the court to consider mitigating circumstances and reduce his sentence.
Attending the trial, the victim's family demanded that the defendant compensate them 3.5 billion VND for expenses such as hospital treatment, funeral costs, emotional distress, and child support.
The panel of judges determined that the defendant's actions were dangerous to society and violated the right to life, therefore requiring strict punishment. However, mitigating circumstances such as honest confession, remorse, and the family's compensation of 20 million VND should also be considered.
After considering all aspects of the case, the court sentenced Nguyen Duy On to 17 years in prison for murder. Regarding the civil aspect, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim's representatives with over 1.3 billion VND.
