Going to collect debt for his nephew, he shot and killed someone.

On March 7, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Ly Chong Nai (born 1965), residing in Huoi Tu commune, Ky Son district, for the crimes of "Murder" and "Illegal possession and use of military weapons".

Ly Chong Nai has a nephew-aunt relationship with Lau Ba Tru (born in 1986, residing in Muong Tip commune). Around February 2022, Tru called Nai and said, "There is someone in Hoa Binh town who often deceives people in Na Ngoi and Muong Tip communes, including me, about drug trafficking. I was almost arrested by the police twice. I asked you to call this person to make an appointment to meet and ask for money. Regarding the reason for the meeting, you pretended to make an appointment to meet this person to discuss drug trafficking."

The person Tru mentioned was Mr. Ha Van C. (born in 1972), residing in Huu Kiem commune, Ky Son district. When asked, Nai agreed and contacted Mr. C. many times to meet but was refused. In early April 2022, Nai continued to make an appointment and Mr. C. agreed.

Defendant Ly Chong Nai was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

At around 6:00 a.m. on April 6, 2022, the two sides agreed to meet at the mountainside. Before leaving, Nai brought an AK submachine gun. When they met, Tru asked for the debt, but Mr. C. said "I don't have the money yet" and turned around to leave. Tru grabbed Mr. C.'s hand and said "If you don't pay, I won't let you go home", so the two sides struggled with each other.

At this time, Nai pointed the gun barrel at Mr. C., but the opponent kicked the gun but missed.

Immediately after that, Nai pulled the trigger, hitting Mr. C. in the chest and abdomen, killing him on the spot. After committing the crime, Tru and Nai ran away. Nai hid the gun at the bottom of the mountain, behind his house.

On April 15, 2022, the investigation agency received a report from the people in the mountainous area of ​​Keo Luc 3 village, Pha Danh commune, that a decomposed male body was discovered. The investigation agency examined the scene, the body and collected information, determining that it was Mr. Ha Van C. who had been missing for 9 days.

As for the perpetrator, when he learned that the incident was discovered, on May 2, 2022, Ly Chong Nai went to the police to surrender and confessed to his crime.

At the trial, the defendant initially gave a evasive statement. Nai said he did not intend to kill Mr. C. but that the gun went off by accident. Later, the defendant confessed to his crime, apologized to the victim’s family, and asked the court to consider a lighter sentence.

Regarding the origin of the gun, the defendant stated that he had previously bought it from a Laotian. When the court asked about the purpose of buying the gun, the defendant remained silent.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s criminal behavior was especially dangerous to society. Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Ly Chong Nai to 20 years in prison for the crime of “Killing", 2 years in prison for "Illegal possession and use of military weapons", the total sentence is 22 years in prison. Regarding the civil part, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim's family 254 million VND.

Regarding Lau Ba Tru, the investigation agency has summoned him for questioning but he was not present in the area, no one knows where he went or what he did. Currently, there is only Nai's testimony, so there is not enough basis for prosecution. The investigation agency will continue to investigate and verify.