Disabled man kills underage girlfriend in hotel

Kicked in the stomach by his teenage 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. He huddled in a corner of the room, looking pensive, occasionally looking out to find his relatives.

Being the only son, but his family was poor and he had an inferiority complex, Tuan only studied until 6th grade then dropped out to stay home and 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 his cousin.

Knowing the story, Kim's family tried to stop Tuan from asking 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 his friends. Late at night, when both were drunk, the young man took his girlfriend to a hotel to "talk".

Tuan was silent during the trial. Photo: Binh Nguyen.

The investigation results determined that seeing his girlfriend too drunk, Tuan blamed her, "You're weak but you drink too much, you're drunk and don'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 to be Tuan 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 look. 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 the stomach 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 indignantly, claiming 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's death was "so unjust". 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 victim’s family’s pain. 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.

"While studying the file, 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 for leniency from the court. "I am disabled, my parents have only me, I hope the court will consider it," Tuan said urgently and turned away.

"Dad and 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 whole audience was silent for a moment.

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

* The victim's name has been changed

According to VNE