Former officer who planted a mine at the provincial police chief's house has his sentence reduced.

Although the former police officer pleaded innocent in court, the panel of judges said there was enough evidence to determine that the defendant had asked his "juniors" to plant a mine in the house of the provincial police director because he was angry at being transferred to another job.

The house of the Director of Thai Nguyen Provincial Police was set ablaze with the iron door blown open - Photo: QUANG THE

After two days of opening the appeal hearing of the case of planting a mine at the house of the Director of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Police, on June 16, the High People's Court in Hanoi issued a verdict on the two defendants who filed an appeal. The mobile trial was held at the T16 detention camp of the Ministry of Public Security.

At court, the two defendants Nguyen Viet Hoa (41 years old, former police officer of the Wanted Police Department, Thai Nguyen Provincial Police) and Dong Van Bich (38 years old, residing in Thai Nguyen) both appealed, claiming that they did not commit any crime.

Previously, at the first instance trial, both defendants were convicted of three crimes: murder, property destruction and illegal use of explosives.

After reviewing the evidence and testimony of the witnesses, the appellate panel held that the Court of First Instance had tried the defendants correctly, with the correct crimes, without wrongful convictions, so the appeal was not accepted.

Although the defendants did not appeal for a reduction in their sentences, based on the National Assembly's resolution on applying favorable circumstances to the accused according to the 2015 Penal Code, the court considered reducing the sentences for the two defendants for murder from life imprisonment to 20 years.

The sentences imposed for the two crimes of property destruction and illegal use of explosives at the first instance court remain unchanged.

According to the prosecution documents, due to frustration at being transferred from the Criminal Police Department to the Wanted Police Department, Hoa tried to plant a mine in the house of Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tuan - Director of Thai Nguyen Provincial Police.

Hoa found and asked his "junior" Dong Van Bich to discuss the plan to place mines in front of Mr. Tuan's house.

On the night of January 6, 2012, Hoa called Bich and gave him a plastic bag containing explosives and told him to “take it to house number 191”. Knowing that this was the house of the provincial police director, Bich still agreed.

Bich rode a motorbike carrying a bag of explosives to Mr. Tuan's iron gate and lit the fuse. At around 2 a.m. on January 7, 2012, the bomb exploded. Fortunately, Mr. Tuan's entire family was asleep in the house so no one was injured.

According to Tuoi Tre