The 'obedient' child and the father's pain

Kha Van Tuat and Vi Van Thai (both born in 1994) live in Xieng Huong village, Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district. Since childhood, the two have been close friends. When Tuat was 8 years old, while herding cows, he was accidentally stabbed in the eye by a branch, resulting in blindness in one eye. Having suffered many disadvantages, Tuat only finished secondary school and then dropped out, while his friend continued to go to school. However, the couple still often visited and played with each other.

Even when Thai got married and had his own life with his wife and two children, their friendship remained strong. Every day, they still contacted and helped each other. The close friendship between Thai and Tuat was well known to both families. Therefore, it was normal for them to stay overnight at each other's houses whenever they had something to do.

Defendant Kha Van Tuat (standing) appeared in court for drug trafficking with his friend. Photo: Tran Vu

At the end of November 2020, after not seeing their son come home one night but knowing that he was with Thai, Mr. Kha Van Dai (Tuat's father) and his wife were not too worried. But after two or three days, they still had no news of their son. They tried to contact him but could not. They ran to Thai's house but could not find him, so they started to worry. About 7 days later, when the police came to the house to inform that Kha Van Tuat's son had been arrested for drug trafficking with his friends, Mr. Dai and his wife were shocked.

According to investigation documents, on November 27, 2020, Thai was given 97 million VND by an unknown woman to buy 10 packages of pink phien and 1 heroin cake, so she invited Tuat to go with her. At first, Tuat refused to go, but then agreed. The two took a bus to the Dua village area, Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district to buy drugs but were unsuccessful. Therefore, Thai and Tuat asked to stay at an acquaintance's house overnight and waited until the next day to buy drugs.

On November 28, Thai met a man in the mountainous area of ​​​​Dua village to buy 5 heroin sticks for 90 million VND. After receiving the "goods", Thai and Tuat moved to the agreed location to deliver them to the customer, but were arrested by the police with evidence of 179.5 grams of drugs. The woman who bought the drugs took advantage of the moment and quickly fled.

The news of his son being arrested for drug trafficking made Mr. Dai and his wife heartbroken. Tuat's mother, who had a heart condition, had a breakdown in her health after hearing the news of her son's involvement. "My wife had many sleepless nights, constantly tossing and turning, blaming herself for not keeping a close watch on her son, leading to him being seduced. She fell ill, so the financial burden of Tuat's medicine and caregiving fell on my shoulders. But the job of driving a motorbike taxi in a mountainous district is difficult, especially during the past few years of the epidemic, so the income is very low...", Mr. Dai sadly said.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr. Dai could only stand far away and watch his son. Photo: Tran Vu

Sitting alone watching his son’s trial, Mr. Dai’s eyes were red. He shared: “Every parent loves their child and wants them to become good people, but Tuat committed a crime and must be punished by law. I just hope the court will consider reducing his sentence so that he can return to start a new life soon.”

On the witness stand, the two defendants admitted their crimes. Defendant Tuat said that at first, when he received a phone call inviting him to go drug trafficking from Thai, he refused. But then, becauseconsiderate,again continuously received "dozens of phone calls" so he agreed. Tuat also did not benefit from this business deal.

Defendant Thai confessed that he sold drugs for profit, even though he knew it was against the law. He presented his difficult circumstances, including his deaf and mute wife and young children, to ask the court to reduce his sentence.

As the mastermind and ringleader, defendant Vi Van Thai was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Defendant Kha Van Tuat, as an accomplice and implementer, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

Hearing the verdict on his son, Mr. Dai quietly followed his son to say a few words. But the strict regulations on Covid-19 prevention prevented the man from getting close to his son. Father and son stood a few meters apart, Mr. Dai could only choke out the words "keep it up, son". Hearing his father's words, Tuat did not reply but quickly got into the covered car. The car left the court yard, he could only quietly leave the court in heavy sadness.