With her husband in prison, the pregnant woman follows suit with a life sentence.

(Baonghean.vn) - Just last year, Xoan was carrying her approximately 3-year-old daughter and running after someone when...husbandShe was escorted to a vehicle to be taken back to prison. But today, Xoan came to court with her unborn child, as a defendant in a drug case.

A few years ago, Ngo Thi Xoan (born in 1971, residing in Vinh City, Nghe An province) became infamous for carrying a coffin to demand payment of a debt. The reason given was that when Xoan's husband was arrested with three blocks of heroin, facing a potential death sentence, she heard that someone could "fix" the case for her husband. Xoan then gathered hundreds of millions of dong to seek their help.

The suspect Ngo Thi Xoan at the time of her arrest. (Archival photo)

On that occasion, Nguyen Thanh Tam (Xoan's husband) was sentenced to life imprisonment. The person who helped him get the sentence overturned failed to fulfill their commitment and refused to return the money. After repeatedly demanding it back without success, Xoan and several others brought a coffin to the person's house to put pressure on them.

Later, Nguyen Thanh Tam's sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to 20 years, not due to pressure to drop the case, but because the authorities re-examined the drug content of the seized evidence. The incident of using a coffin to demand payment caused a public uproar, and thanks to it, Xoan's reputation among the gangsters of Vinh City increased by several notches.

The couple, Tam and Xoan, are also quite well-known, especially since both have numerous prior convictions and criminal records. Nguyen Thanh Tam has four prior convictions and one prior offense for gambling, and is currently serving a 20-year sentence for "Illegal trafficking of narcotics." Ngo Thi Xoan is no less notorious, boasting two prior convictions for "Gambling" and one for "Resisting a public official."

On the day of her husband's trial, Xoan and her children attended. After the trial ended, Nguyen Thanh Tam was escorted to a vehicle to return to prison. Ngo Thi Xoan, carrying her third daughter, pushed through the crowd and reached out, holding her daughter up so Tam could kiss her.

Witnessing that moment, many would think that, more than anyone else, Xoan had deeply felt the pain of separation, the consequences of drugs on herself and so many other families. Yet, Xoan herself followed in her husband's footsteps and became involved in another drug trafficking ring.

On the evening of March 19, 2017, Xoan received a phone call from a man named Truyen (whose identity and background are unknown) hiring her to meet another man and receive two blocks of heroin on his behalf. Truyen would pay Xoan 10 million VND for her services.

After receiving the "goods," Xoan took them home and hid them. Following Truyen's instructions, Xoan brought one block of heroin to the pre-arranged meeting place to hand it over to Truyen, and put the remaining block of heroin in a Styrofoam box and hid it behind the house.

On March 21, 2017, when Xoan brought heroin to the area near the Vinh city football stadium to deliver it to Truyen, she was discovered and arrested by the police.

When Xoan was arrested, her fourth child was already conceived. Because she was pregnant, Ngo Thi Xoan was released on bail to assist with the investigation. In mid-September 2017, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court brought the case to trial, at which time Ngo Thi Xoan was six months pregnant.

Xoan was accompanied to court by her son and a few relatives. The trial opened in the afternoon; the hot weather, coupled with her advanced pregnancy and her age, made the defendant quite tired. The panel of judges allowed Xoan to sit while answering questions related to the case.

The amount of drugs that Ngo Thi Xoan transported. (Photo: Archival image)

The presiding judge noted that the defendant Ngo Thi Xoan's criminal act was particularly serious, involving a large quantity of drugs (over 700g), and that she had a bad criminal record. However, she confessed honestly, her family had contributed to the revolution, and she was pregnant... therefore, mitigating circumstances should be applied, demonstrating the leniency of the law.

After a comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges sentenced Ngo Thi Xoan to life imprisonment for the crime of "illegally transporting narcotics," with the prison term to be calculated from the time she becomes eligible to serve the sentence.

The trial ended, and Ngo Thi Xoan sat silently in her chair for a moment before standing up. Her son helped her leave. The afternoon sun made the atmosphere even more stifling. On the day Xoan goes to serve her sentence, at least two children will be left without their mother's care. Xoan's steps were heavy, as if she were carrying a heavy stone…

Nhu Binh