Meeting his young child in court, the young drug-addicted father was absent-minded.
(Baonghean.vn) - To satisfy his addiction, Phuong bought a large amount of drugs for use and was arrested. Not long after, his young wife left, leaving behind a baby only a few months old. That made the young man always feel guilty towards his mother, wife and children.
Addict hides drugs in chicken coop
Nghe An Provincial People's Court has just opened a criminal appeal trial of defendant Pham Trong Phuong (born 1991), residing in Do Luong town, Do Luong district, for the crime of "Illegal possession of narcotics".
Before that, at around 11am on April 10, 2019, Phuong took the bus to Vinh bus station to buy drugs to use. 30 minutes later, Phuong arrived at the bus station gate and met a man working as a motorbike taxi driver, so he asked, "Does anyone here sell candy?". This man understood that Phuong wanted to buy drugs, so he said, "If you want to buy some, give me the money to buy it for you." Phuong gave this man 3 million VND.
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| Defendant Pham Trong Phuong at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu |
About 20 minutes later, the motorbike taxi driver brought Phuong a plastic bag containing many candy-like synthetic drugs, and added a white substance, saying it was "ke". Phuong took all the drugs, took the bus home, and hid them in the family's chicken coop. Around 8:00 p.m. that night, Phuong took plastic bottles and straws, and made them into tools to use drugs. When she had satisfied her addiction, Phuong put the drugs back in the same place.
At around 11am on April 15, Phuong rented a car to go to a friend's house in Dien Chau town (Dien Chau district). On the way back, Phuong was stopped by the 1/7 traffic police patrol team due to speeding. During the stop, because they suspected Phuong of using drugs, the traffic police patrol team handed Phuong over to the Do Luong district police. Phuong's urine test showed positive results for drugs. Pham Trong Phuong also admitted to using drugs and confessed to hiding drugs at home.
Searching Phuong’s residence, the police seized 19.214 grams of ecstasy and 4.179 grams of Ketamine, which Phuong said he bought for later use. For the crime of “Illegal possession of narcotics”, Pham Trong Phuong was sentenced to 6 years in prison by the People’s Court of Do Luong district. Phuong later filed an appeal, asking for a lighter sentence.
Husband in jail, wife left
At the appeal hearing, Phuong gave the reason for filing an appeal for a reduced sentence, citing difficult circumstances, his wife left so there was no one to take care of the children.
It is known that Phuong and his 24-year-old wife have three children together. The oldest is four years old and the youngest is only seven months old. According to Phuong's statement at the trial, shortly after the defendant was arrested, his wife quietly left her two-month-old child and two young children for their grandmother to raise. "Knowing that his wife left made the defendant very sad. The defendant feels guilty towards his wife and children, and asks the court to consider reducing the sentence so that the defendant can return home soon to take care of the children," Pham Trong Phuong said at the trial.
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| The little child was carried to the court by his grandmother, leaning forward to look inside, hoping to see his father. Photo: Tran Vu |
Attending the appeal hearing that day, the defendant's mother brought her young grandchild. She said she did not know where her daughter-in-law had gone. Since her daughter-in-law was no longer in the house, she had been both a grandmother and a mother, taking care of three young grandchildren, especially the youngest, who was only a few months old. When she was carried to the court to meet her father, the child got bored and fell asleep on her grandmother's shoulder.
She said she was taking her grandchild to visit her father, but her father could only watch her from afar. She also only carried her little grandchild to the hallway of the courtroom. Whenever the child cried, she would take him away to comfort him.
During the trial, the panel of judges determined that the defendant Phuong had not presented any new details to consider for a sentence reduction, so there was no basis for a sentence reduction. The court decided to reject the defendant’s appeal and upheld the 6-year prison sentence for Pham Trong Phuong.
Being escorted to the car to return to prison, the young father's face was absent-minded, his eyes filled with remorse and tears as he watched the grandmother and grandchild leave in the late afternoon...
