78-year-old man who molested many girls unexpectedly has his sentence reduced
According to the People's Court, defendant Thuy is old and weak, is a cadre and party member, and has made many contributions to the locality, so the decision was made to reduce the defendant's sentence from 3 years in prison to 18 months of suspended imprisonment.
On May 11, the People's Court of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province opened an appeal trial of Mr. Nguyen Khac Thuy (born in 1940, former director of the State Bank of Vietnam, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province branch, residing in Lakeside apartment building, Nguyen An Ninh ward, Vung Tau city) for the crime of Child molestation.
Previously, on November 17, 2017, Mr. Thuy was sentenced by the court of first instance to 3 years in prison for child molestation with many aggravating circumstances such as committing the crime multiple times... After this sentence, Mr. Thuy appealed, claiming his innocence.
 |
| Defendant Thuy's sentence was reduced. |
At today's trial, the victims and witnesses were all absent from the court, the legal representatives of the victims were also absent, and the lawyers representing the victims were present at the court. The defendant also had two lawyers participating in the defense.
The two defense attorneys for the defendant argued that the absence of witnesses and victims would affect the trial, so they requested that the trial be postponed to summon victims and witnesses.
Defendant Thuy said the prolonged case had made him tired, he was "close to death" and wanted to confront the victims and witnesses directly. However, he requested the panel of judges to continue the trial.
After deliberation, the panel of judges found that this was a case of child abuse, and the victims' family representatives requested an absent trial because it would affect the family's honor. Since the witness was a foreigner, the panel of judges decided to continue the trial.
Responding to the questions of the jury, defendant Thuy still insisted that he was wronged, denied the charges, and affirmed that he did not hug or commit obscene acts with the children as accused.
When answering the question of the representative of the People's Procuracy of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, defendant Thuy also said that he himself did not remember clearly what he had said because it had been a long time. Defendant Thuy also admitted that during the time he lived in the apartment building, he went down to the yard and often patted the heads of some girls he knew because he loved children.
At the end of the questioning, the representative of the People's Procuracy stated that based on the investigation process, evidence, witness statements and the trial process at the first instance and appeal court, there was sufficient evidence to convict Nguyen Khac Thuy of committing obscene acts with two girls, D. and HA, so he requested the panel of judges to reject the appeal and uphold the first instance judgment.
However, the defense attorney for defendant Thuy denied the opinion of the Procuracy. According to the attorney, both cases had no basis to charge his client. The statements of witnesses and victims were contradictory and unclear. Therefore, the attorney requested a reenactment of the crime scene to clarify the details of the case.
At the same time, the lawyer said that the Vung Tau City Police Department's investigation agency had reached a hasty conclusion, while not allowing the victim and the defendant to confront each other directly and publicly. The lawyer requested that the appellate court's panel of judges need to cancel the entire first instance judgment and reinvestigate.
When given the final say, defendant Thuy repeatedly raised her hands, loudly stating that if she was convicted it would be unfair because she did not commit any crime. Defendant Thuy also expressed indignation when the first instance verdict sentenced her to 3 years in prison for child molestation.
After deliberation, the panel of judges decided to amend the first instance judgment, stating that Nguyen Khac Thuy's criminal behavior in the case of baby HA had not been determined, but in the case of baby D. there was sufficient evidence to convict. At the same time, considering that Thuy was old and weak, was a cadre, a party member, and had made many contributions to the locality, the panel of judges decided to sentence Nguyen Khac Thuy to 18 months in prison for child molestation, but with a suspended sentence.
