The Fall of a Beautiful Woman

Buy drugs to sell retail and give to husband for use

Although she is over 40 years old, Nguyen Thi Chau (born in 1980), residing in Quy Hop town, Quy Hop district, still exudes the sharp beauty of a woman with two children. Her white skin, short shoulder-length hair, and light-colored dye make Chau's appearance stand out in the courtroom of Nghe An Provincial People's Court.

Being escorted to court as a defendant in the case of Illegal Drug Trafficking, Chau often looked back to find his relatives. In this case, there were also two defendants, Nguyen Huu Giap (born in 1984) and Ho Minh Tuan (born in 1979), both residing in Quy Hop town. Both were customers who bought drugs from Chau to use and resell to addicts.

The drug trafficking activities of this group of subjects caused insecurity and disorder in the area and angered the masses. Therefore, the authorities established a special project to capture drug retail points in the mountainous district. From there, Chau and his accomplices were arrested.

Specifically, in mid-May 2022, Nguyen Thi Chau bought 1 heroin cake from a man of unknown origin for 243 million VND. Because she did not have enough money, Chau paid nearly half in advance and asked to delay the remaining amount.

Chau brought the drugs home and used an electronic scale to divide them into many packages to sell for profit. On June 8, 12 and 15, 2022, Giap and Tuan contacted Chau to buy drugs. Giap bought 5 packages of heroin many times, while Tuan bought 1 package of heroin for 400,000 to 500,000 VND/package to resell to addicts.

When the addicts were using drugs, they were discovered and arrested by the police. Based on the statements of the drug users, the police arrested Giap, Tuan and Chau one by one. During an emergency search of Nguyen Thi Chau’s residence, the police seized more than 114 grams of drugs, nearly 6 million VND in drug proceeds and an electronic scale used to divide the drugs.

Justifying her crime, Chau said that because she did not have a stable job and her husband was an addict, she fell into crime. The defendant said that she not only sold drugs to the market but also gave them to her husband to use gradually. Chau admitted that she knew that providing drugs for her husband to use was not right, that she had unintentionally pushed him into a deadly quagmire, but she could not stop.

In addition, Chau’s becoming a “ringleader” specializing in supplying drugs to subjects in the area has caused outrage among the masses and affected the security and order situation in the area. In fact, the subjects who bought drugs from Chau not only sold them retail but some even gave them to their sons to use. That behavior has unintentionally poisoned young men and drugs are the seed of other crimes.

Late regret

When facing the verdict, Nguyen Thi Chau burst into tears. The defendant asked the court to consider leniency so that she could return home to raise her two children. According to Chau, the children are now of school age and need the education and care of their parents. The defendant expressed regret for her mistakes that caused her children to suffer.

Now, in addition to worrying about getting into trouble with the law, Chau still worries about her children and her drug-addicted husband. This young woman hopes that his wife's sentence will wake her husband up and help him give up drugs to take care of his children.

The 20-year prison sentence is a bitter end for Nguyen Thi Chau because she has fallen deeper into the path of spreading “white death”. Meanwhile, defendant Nguyen Huu Giap received a 7-year prison sentence, and Ho Minh Tuan received a 2-year prison sentence.

Entering prison at the age of 40 with a 20-year sentence made Chau's return a long way off. But that was the price Chau herself chose. The sentence for the female defendant is also a lesson for other women, to know how to love their husbands properly, not to flatter their wrongdoings, more seriously, to disregard the law to earn illegal money.