Man stabs police officer to death after being told to park his car at wedding gets sentence

On the morning of January 16, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance criminal trial of Nguyen Duc Hong (born 1969), residing in Cat Van commune, Thanh Chuong district, for the crime of "Murder".

Before that, at around 7:30 p.m. on May 25, 2019, Hong and his friend rode a motorbike to Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh's house (neighbor) to attend a wedding. When arriving at Mr. Thanh's gate, because both sides of the house were full of cars, Hong parked along the road. Seeing that, Mr. Nguyen Van L. (born in 1962, a police officer of Cat Van commune) who was on patrol duty, ensuring security and order on the Cat Van inter-commune road reminded Hong to park the car neatly.

Hong said again, "They've all parked inside. Now they're parking here. Where else can they park?" Mr. L. said again, "If they left their bikes there, they'd kick them." Hong continued, "If anyone was going to kick them, then kick them again."

Defendant Nguyen Duc Hong. Photo: Tran Vu

Then Hong and Mr. L. argued. The friend who was with them immediately stopped them and dragged Hong into Mr. Thanh's house. Once inside, Hong went into the kitchen, took a knife from his waistband, and went out the gate. At this time, he couldn't find his motorbike, so Hong asked Mr. L. "Where is my motorbike?" Mr. L. said "it's moved, go look in the middle of the parking lot." After that, Hong and Mr. L. argued again.

During the argument, Mr. L. challenged: "You hit, you slash". Hong replied: "I don't slash, I stab". Mr. L. continued: "You stab". Nguyen Duc Hong immediately took a knife and stabbed Mr. L. in the chest. Some witnesses immediately hugged Hong and took the knife away.

After that, Hong met his friend and asked him to take him to the commune police station to confess. While waiting for his friend to get his motorbike, Hong saw 3 motorbikes heading towards him so he ran away to the Lim Bong mountain area to hide. At 7am the next morning, Hong went to the police station to confess.

The victim died despite being rushed to the emergency room by everyone. The forensic examination concluded that the victim died of “circulatory failure, acute respiratory failure due to a puncture wound to the lung.”

At the trial, Nguyen Duc Hong admitted to the crime. The defendant said that the argument was due to a little alcohol between the two parties. The victim’s challenge to “go for it” caused the defendant to lose control of his actions.

The defendant claimed that he did not intend to kill anyone. After the incident, the defendant’s family compensated the victim’s family 60 million VND. Attending the trial, the victim’s wife asked for a reduced sentence for the defendant.

The panel of judges determined that at today's trial, the prosecution of defendant Nguyen Duc Hong for the crime of "Murder" was the right person and the right crime.

The defendant's honest confession, his family's contributions to the revolution, and his active efforts to partially compensate the victim for mental damage are factors to consider in sentencing.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Nguyen Duc Hong to 18 years in prison for “Murder”.

The defendant was forced to compensate the victim's family 124 million VND and provide monthly support for the victim's mother 500,000 VND until the victim's mother passed away.