Husband shot wife dead for not giving her money to buy a drink to sober up

On March 10, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal trial of defendant Luong Van Toi (born 1962), residing in Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district, for the crime of "Murder". The victim in the case was the defendant's wife - Mrs. Kha Thi H. (born 1962).

According to the indictment, at about 8:00 p.m. on August 21, 2022, after drinking at a neighbor's house, Toi returned home. On the way home, Toi called his wife, but Ms. H. did not answer.

Defendant Luong Van Toi. Photo: Tran Vu

When he got home, Toi asked his wife why she didn't answer the phone, and the couple argued. At this time, Mrs. H. went out, and Toi held a gun he usually used for hunting to his stomach, threatening to shoot. Hearing his parents arguing, the son immediately came out to stop them and put the gun away.

Toi went out for a while and then came back to ask his son for the gun. Then, Toi went to the kitchen to meet his wife and asked for money to buy a soft drink to sober up, but Mrs. H. did not give it to him. Toi went back to the bedroom to get the gun, pointed it at his wife and said, “I will kill you. You die first, then I will die.” The gunshot rang out, and the wife fell to the ground and died.

Hearing the gunshot, the son ran out. At that moment, Toi told his son that he had shot his mother and then went to hug his wife. Toi ran away and turned himself in the next day.

At the trial, the defendant confessed honestly, showing remorse. He said he asked his wife for money to buy some water to sober up but she refused. Out of anger, he intended to threaten her, not to kill her. After accidentally shooting his wife, Toi gave his children 20 million VND to pay for her funeral.

Attending the trial, the defendant's children asked the court to consider reducing the sentence for their father. The victim's younger brother asked the court to try the defendant according to the law.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant committed an especially serious crime because of a trivial conflict that took the life of his wife. The defendant’s actions caused mental and emotional damage to the family, caused public panic, and disrupted security and order in the area, so he needed to be severely punished.

However, it is also necessary to consider some mitigating circumstances for the defendant such as surrender, honest confession, and the defendant's father being a person with revolutionary contributions.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced the defendant Luong Van Toi to 17 years in prison for murder. In terms of civil matters, the defendant was ordered to pay the victim’s mother 300,000 VND per month in support.