Disabled man kills underage girlfriend in hotel

Kicked in the stomach by his underage girlfriend, Tuan got angry and pressed down on her, strangling her while she was drunk and unable to fight back, causing the victim to die.

Thai Minh Tuan (30 years old, from Soc Trang) has just been tried by the Family and Juvenile Court, Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for murder.

Although his face was bright, Tuan was born with a disability, one leg was almost paralyzed, and he walked with a limp. Hiding in a corner of the room, looking pensive, the young man occasionally looked out to find his relatives.

Being the only son, but his family was poor and he felt inferior, Tuan only studied until 6th grade and then dropped out to stay home to help his family.

In 2013, he went to Saigon to work for a plastic manufacturing facility in District 6. Here, Tuan met and fell in love with Kim (16 years old), who also worked for her cousin.

Knowing the story, Kim's family tried to stop him, but Tuan still invited his young girlfriend out many times. On the afternoon of November 26, 2016, Tuan took Kim out to eat and then went to a party with a group of friends. Late at night, when both were drunk, the young man took his girlfriend to a hotel to "talk".

Tuan silently walked through the trial. Photo: Binh Nguyen.

The investigation results determined that seeing his girlfriend too drunk, Tuan blamed her for "drinking too much because she was weak and didn't know anything." Hearing that, Kim angrily kicked Tuan in the stomach.

Feeling pain, he sat on top of Kim and strangled her. Seeing her lying still and not resisting, he thought his girlfriend was pretending. Tuan was lying next to her. Later, he discovered that Kim was dead.

Panicked, Tuan covered Kim with a blanket and ran home to tell his father what had happened. He also called Kim's mother. Tuan's father and Kim's family went to the hotel to check and then reported to the police. The next day, Tuan was taken to the police station by his relatives.

Called up for questioning by the judge, Tuan glanced at the victim's parents with a wary gaze. Tuan said he had feelings for Kim but the girl's family did not agree. He did not intend to kill Kim. "That day, because I was kicked in pain and too drunk, I acted like that," Tuan said.

Below, the victim's father was still not over the pain of losing his son. He angrily and loudly disagreed with Tuan's statement.

"I know she has no feelings for him. My daughter is dead, so can I say whatever I want?", he said angrily, thinking that Tuan had seduced his daughter. Unable to keep his composure, he then left the courtroom.

Representing her daughter in court, Kim's mother burst into tears several times. She said her daughter died "unjustly". Her voice choked up, she asked the court to consider Tuan for having sex with a child.

In a slow voice, the female judge said that she sympathized with the pain of the victim's family. She then announced the results of the forensic examination showing that Kim's blood alcohol concentration was very high. That was also part of the cause of the victim's death under the influence of the defendant.

Regarding the signs of the crime of having sex with children, the female judge analyzed that the panel of judges considered the defendant's criminal behavior based on objective, scientific evidence, not just whatever the defendant said the court would accept.

"While studying the case, I also pondered this issue so I considered it very carefully. The hotel diary shows that Tuan brought his girlfriend here four times. The victim was also 16 years old, so there is no basis to consider the defendant for having sex with a child," the female judge explained.

Without making any excuses for his actions, Tuan said he was very remorseful for what had happened. He apologized to the victim's family and asked the court for leniency. "The defendant is disabled, and his parents have only him. I hope the court will consider this," Tuan said urgently, then turned away.

"Dad, Mom, I'm so unfilial. I will reform myself so I can return to you soon," he cried out loud. His mother, sitting below, also sobbed. Trying to stay calm, the defendant's father's eyes were red. The entire audience fell silent for a moment.

Considering that Tuan is disabled, turned himself in, and his family has partially reimbursed the damage, the People's Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison for murder.

* Victim's name has been changed

According to VNE