The young man buried his youth behind bars.

Just turned 32, but the criminal record of Dao Van Thai (born 1989), residing in Quynh Thach commune, Quynh Luu district, full of "bad records" makes many people shake their heads.

At the age of 23, Thai was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison by the People's Court of Quynh Luu district for the crime ofRobbery, 6 months in prison for intentionally damaging property. The total sentence that Thai was forced to serve was 8 years in prison. In 2018, Dao Van Thai was released from prison early and returned to reintegrate into society.

Defendant Dao Van Thai was tried for re-offending related to drugs. Photo: Tran Vu

Starting his life over at nearly 30 years old, Thai was encouraged by his relatives to leave the past behind and find a new job to stabilize his life. With the help of his relatives, Thai learned to drive and worked as a taxi driver in the local area. However, the irresistible charm of money and drugs made Thai unable to wake up from his first fall in life. Thai continued to be arrested for drug-related crimes.

The case file shows that in June 2019, Thai met a man named Manh. This man introduced himself as being from Quynh Ba commune, Quynh Luu district. One day at the end of December 2019, the two met at a coffee shop in Cau Giat town. Manh asked about his work, and Thai replied: "I haven't been doing anything lately, just hanging out." At this time, Manh hired Thai to go to the mountainous district to bring drugs to the lowlands. Faced with the generous amount of 10 million VND that Manh promised to give him, Thai agreed.

On December 21, 2019, Dao Van Thai borrowed a motorbike from an acquaintance and went to Tri Le commune (Que Phong) to receive drugs from two strange men. After receiving the "goods", Thai turned his motorbike around and was caught red-handed by the police in Lien Ban village, Chau Thang commune, Quy Chau district. The investigation agency determined that Dao Van Thai must bear criminal responsibility for transporting more than 700 grams of drugs.

In front of the witness stand, regarding the motive for the crime, defendant Thai blamed his difficult circumstances. “After leaving prison, I worked as a taxi driver, but I had no customers, so life was difficult, so…”, Thai stammered when stating the motive for the crime. “Many people have difficult circumstances, but they still work honestly to earn money, while the defendant, who had been in prison, is a healthy young man but still reoffends. Have you thought about what you did?”, in response to the court’s question, Thai bowed his head.

A jury member reminded the defendant to look back at himself because he was old, had been in prison, but still reoffended shortly after being released, which showed contempt for the law. The defendant was healthy, and had support and advice from his relatives, but it was regrettable that he did not cherish what he had and then violated the law. The defendant's criminal behavior not only buried his own youth but also caused grief to his relatives. Hearing the jury member's reminders, Thai slowly realized his mistake. The defendant expressed remorse and asked for a lighter sentence so that he could soon return to his parents and start a new life.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant's recidivism was an aggravating factor and required strict punishment. However, it was also necessary to consider some mitigating factors for the defendant, such as his sincere confession, remorse, and his contribution to saving a drowning person as confirmed by the local authorities. Considering the aggravating and mitigating factors, the panel sentenced the defendant Dao Van Thai to 20 years in prison for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

Regarding the man named Manh, the defendant stated that he only heard him speak in Quynh Ba and did not know his identity. The investigation agency has verified the subject named Manh according to the defendant’s statement, but there is no one like Thai’s statement, so there is no basis for handling.

Entering prison for the second time with a 20-year sentence, Thai's youth seemed to be gone. It was Thai, and no one else, who had buried his youth behind bars for greed. The defendant's remorse now seemed too late.