Murder committed because someone was shone in the face by a car's headlights.

On the morning of July 13th, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to hear the case against defendant Ngo Van Minh (born in 1997), residing in Nghia Loc commune, Nghia Dan district. Defendant Minh is being prosecuted for the crime of "murder".

Defendant Ngo Van Minh in court. Photo: Phuong Thao

According to the indictment, on the evening of March 4, 2018, after a drinking session, Minh and his friends went to a coffee shop in Nghia Loc commune, Nghia Dan district. After sitting for a while, Minh's group saw Pham Van Tien and his friend arrive at the shop on a motorbike. Because Tien hadn't turned off the engine and lights when he stopped, the motorbike's headlights shone directly into Minh's face. This angered Minh.

Minh asked someone to run home and get an iron pipe, then went to meet Tien. There, Minh asked, "Why were you shining your motorbike headlights in someone's face?" Tien replied, "I'm new here, please forgive me if I've done anything wrong." As soon as Tien finished speaking, Minh used the iron pipe to hit Tien hard.

Mr. Tien was injured and taken to the hospital for emergency treatment, but due to the severity of his injuries, he died shortly afterward.

Following the incident, Ngo Van Minh's family agreed to compensate Pham Van Tien's family with 260 million VND.

In court, Ngo Van Minh admitted to all the crimes. The panel of judges sentenced the defendant to 15 years in prison for "murder".