Sad story after student murder case in dormitory

Just over 14 years old, instead of going to school like other friends, Vu Ba Gia, residing in Tay Son commune, Ky Son district, had to wear a prisoner's uniform. The image of a young male student with a young face being led to the court to becourtabout the crime of “Murder” made many people think. If only, that night Gia had not drunk alcohol; if only I had not been persuaded by friends; if only I had the supervision of my family, then maybe things would be different now.

Gia was the eldest child, then had two younger siblings. Life was difficult so Gia's parents took each other to Binh Phuoc to work as rubber workers. In his hometown, Gia was entrusted by his parents to his uncle to take care of and teach. At Tay Son Ethnic Boarding Primary School, Gia was a 9th grade student, a day student. His friend Mua Chu Di was a boarding student.

On the evening of March 21, 2022, while Gia was drinking with a group of friends, Di ran up and invited him to beat up Lau Ba T. (born in 2004, a 12th grade student at another school). The reason was that Di and T. had a conflict before. Although Gia had no conflict with T., he agreed to join the fight. Before leaving with his friends, Gia brought a utility knife. When he arrived at the school's dormitory, Di instructed him to slap T. in the face. The group of friends also rushed in to beat T. After being beaten, the victim ran away but was still chased and stopped by Gia, so the 12th grade male student pushed Gia away. T. continued to run away and was slashed many times in the head by Gia.

Defendant Vu Ba Gia was sentenced to 6 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

Upon receiving the news, the school took the student to the hospital for emergency treatment. After 4 days of treatment, the victim died. Authorities concluded that the cause of death was respiratory failure, acute circulatory failure due to a fractured skull, cerebral edema, and cerebral hemorrhage.

The day of the trial was also the time when many localities in Ky Son district were suffering severe consequences due to the flash flood that had just passed. Therefore, Gia's uncle had to walk for nearly 3 hours to cross the muddy, rocky road to catch a bus to the city. Explaining why Gia's parents did not come to the trial, this person said that they are currently working for hire in Binh Phuoc. "After Gia caused the incident, my parents returned to their hometown to take care of work. Because they had to compensate the victim nearly 500 million VND, my uncle and I had to borrow money everywhere. Now, they have to work for hire to pay off the debt...", Gia's uncle said sadly.

The trial of the defendant proceeded quite quickly when Gia admitted to the crime. The defendant stated that there was no conflict between him and the victim. However, because he listened to his friend's invitation and was drunk that day, he could not control his actions. The defendant apologized to the victim, the school and his relatives.

The school representative attending the court shared that it was heartbreaking when the student violated the law. The school admitted part of the responsibility for not strictly managing the students in the dormitory, allowing strangers to enter. After the incident, the school organized the boarding more strictly; at the same time, it increased the propaganda of the law for the students. The school also shared some of the specific difficulties of students in the highlands such as early marriage and alcohol use. Faced with this situation, the school took many measures such as asking the police to propagate and intervene, but unfortunately the heartbreaking incident above happened.

School leadership representative asked for a reduction in sentence for the student. Photo: Tran Vu

Regarding the male student who committed the murder, the school said that before the incident, Gia had good academic performance and was a diligent student. Considering that the student committed the crime at a young age, the school asked the court to consider reducing the sentence so that Gia could return to school soon and continue his studies. The defendant Gia also asked the court to reduce the sentence so that he could have the opportunity to return to school. The legal assistant defending the defendant presented many details to request a reduction in the sentence for the defendant such as limited legal awareness; committing the crime at the age of 14, with an underdeveloped psychology; the defendant committed the crime due to youthful impulsiveness; being persuaded by friends...

The trial panel determined that although the defendant committed an especially serious crime in this case, however, considering that the defendant had many mitigating circumstances such as honestly confessing, repenting, influencing the family to compensate the victim for all losses, and the victim petitioning for a reduced sentence, the court sentenced Vu Ba Gia to 6 years in prison for murder. As for the group of friends who participated in beating Gia, although there were signs of the crime of Disturbing public order, however, at the time of the crime they were only over 14 years old, so no criminal proceedings were taken.