Foreigner transporting backpack full of drugs escapes death sentence thanks to new law
By chance, he met his old boss and was hired by him to transport drugs. The 35-year-old man agreed to his dream of changing his life. However, the shipment of 14 kg of drugs to Vietnam to deliver to the customer failed when he was arrested. Although the amount of drugs in the case was particularly large, because the court applied the amended Penal Code, the foreign defendant escaped the death penalty.
Ambition to change life
The courtroom of Nghe An Provincial People's Court was large during the trial of defendant Xay Xayyasone (35 years old), residing in Bolikhamxay province (Laos) for the crime of ""Illegal transportation of drugs", no one attended. Through an interpreter, the foreign defendant said that both his parents had passed away and his wife and he were divorced, so he had rarely been visited by his relatives. During his detention, the defendant realized that his actions were in violation of Vietnamese law and was very remorseful.
Xay is a healthy young man who used to do many jobs to earn a living. Around 2007, Xay worked for a man who introduced himself as Bo Hat in Vientiane (about 50 years old, Laotian, knew Vietnamese).
Around April 2024, while going to the market, Xay accidentally met her old boss. Hat's father asked for Xay's phone number to ask about her, then invited her to visit Vietnam. When arriving at Pho Chau town, Huong Son district (Ha Tinh), Hat's father bought an old motorbike and told Xay "when you come to Vietnam, take it and use it".
On June 5, Bo Hat called Xay to hire him to transport drugs to Vietnam to deliver to a customer, the quantity was about 10 kg, and promised to pay 66 million Lao kip. Xay agreed to the above request.
Two days later, Bo Hat drove Xay to Cau Treo Border Gate (Ha Tinh) so Xay could enter the country alone. After successfully entering the country, Xay went to the grocery store to get the motorbike that Bo Hat had bought earlier to go to Pho Chau town.
On the evening of June 9, following the instructions of Bo Hat, Xay rode his motorbike up to Cau Treo Border Gate and saw a fresh tree branch lying on the side of the road. Knowing that it was a marked location, Xay stopped and waited to receive the drugs.
A moment later, a man came out of the forest and gave Xay a backpack containing more than 14 kg of drugs. Xay transported the drugs to landmark H7-741 on the Ho Chi Minh trail and hid them in the bushes.
After waiting for a while but the customer did not come to get the drugs, Xay returned to Laos, but the "goods" were still hidden in the same place. On the morning of July 12, Xay returned to Vietnam to check if there were any more drugs; if there were any, he would bring them to an area near the border so that Bo Hat could send someone to pick them up.
Upon arriving, Xay saw that the backpack of drugs was still there, so he put it on his motorbike to take it back to the border. However, when he arrived at Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district (old), he was arrested by Nghe An authorities along with the evidence. With the above criminal acts, Xay was prosecuted and brought to trial for "Illegal transportation of drugs".
Escaped death penalty due to new law
In front of the witness stand, through an interpreter, the defendant admitted to transporting drugs for hire. The defendant stated that due to difficult circumstances, his parents had passed away, and he had no stable job, so when his former boss, Bo Hat, hired him to transport drugs, he agreed.
During this transport, the defendant was promised 66 million Lao kip by Bo Hat but only 5 million kip was given in advance for travel expenses. “The defendant thought he would go on a trip to earn some money to start a business, but unexpectedly…,” the defendant left the sentence unfinished.
The defendant gave the reason that he was a foreigner with limited legal awareness and did not know the regulations of Vietnamese law, so he transported drugs for others. When he was arrested and analyzed by the officers, the defendant realized that his actions were wrong and violated the law. “The defendant is a foreigner with difficult circumstances. I ask the court to grant him leniency under Vietnamese law so that he can return to his country soon,” the defendant stated before the court.
Exercising the right to litigate at the trial, the representative of the Nghe An People's Procuracy stated that the defendant's actions violated the law and posed a danger to society. The defendant transported a large quantity of drugs, and if the old law were applied, he would have received the highest sentence. However, according to the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the new Penal Code, which stipulates that those who commit the crime of "Illegal transportation of narcotics" are exempted from the death penalty, the Procuracy proposed a life sentence for the defendant. This is a step in line with the humanitarian spirit of Vietnamese law, and at the same time, demonstrates proactive integration with the progressive trend of international law.
After the interpreter translated the indictment of the representative of the Procuracy, the defendant bowed his head to show his joy and gratitude. The defendant promised to try to reform himself to have a chance to start his life over.
The panel of judges determined that this was an extremely serious case of illegal drug trafficking. The defendant had transported a large quantity of drugs from Laos to Vietnam and therefore needed to be severely punished.
However, according to the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Penal Code, which took effect from July 1, applying life imprisonment instead of the death penalty also opens up opportunities to correct mistakes and protect the principle of justice, if in the future there is new evidence showing errors in the investigation or trial. Abolishing the death penalty is not lenient with criminals, but a legal choice more consistent with human rights and a commitment to judicial reform. Therefore, the panel sentenced defendant Xay Xayyasone to life imprisonment for "Illegal transportation of narcotics". As for the person who hired the defendant to transport drugs, because the defendant did not know Bo Hat's identity, the investigation agency did not have a basis to handle the case.
Having escaped the death penalty, the defendant clasped his hands in thanks to the jury and then quietly followed the officers back to the prison. Before leaving, the defendant turned back and asked the interpreter to inform his relatives back home...
