Widow goes to jail for coveting husband's 'inheritance'

38 years old, husband deceased, has 3 children is one of the personal information declared of Xong Thi Mai (residing in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district) - the defendant in the case of "Illegal drug trafficking" recently brought to trial by the People's Court of Nghe An province.

During the entire time waiting for the court to come to session, Mai kept looking down to ask her relatives about her children. When they explained that the road was long and that they were afraid of the regulations not allowing children to be brought to court, Mai burst into tears. Mai and her late husband had 3 children together.

According to the defendant's relatives, Mai's husband had been sick for many years. Due to his illness, Mai's husband could hardly do any work, so all the big and small tasks had to be taken care of by Mai.

About 3-4 years ago, her sick husband started using drugs, making the already poor family's economy even more exhausted. At the end of 2021, Mai's husband passed away due to drug shock. After the funeral, Mai cleaned her deceased husband's bed and discovered some western medicine and many packages.heroinKnowing that the drugs belonged to her husband, Mai did not destroy them but hid them instead.

On June 5, 2022, while Mai was at home, she saw a couple come to buy black chicken. When they learned that Mai did not have black chicken, the couple asked Mai to buy pink pheasant. Remembering her late husband's drugs, Mai had the idea to sell them.

The female defendant cried throughout the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

The widow offered 50 million VND for 30 packets of heroin. The customer agreed and gave Mai 10 million VND in advance, and asked to delay the remaining amount. After that, the customer put the drugs in the trunk of his motorbike and invited Mai to go to the market to buy food.

On the way to the market, a drug buyer stopped his car and said he was going to the restroom while Mai waited on her motorbike. At the same time, the police discovered that Mai was acting suspiciously, so they came to check and discovered many packages of drugs with a total weight of more than 580 grams.

Arrested with the evidence, the defendant did not deny the crime at the trial but confessed honestly. Mai confessed that the drugs she sold to customers were left by her deceased husband. While cleaning her deceased husband's bed, the defendant accidentally discovered them.

"The defendant knew it was drugs, why didn't he throw it away?", the judge asked.

“The defendant intended to throw it away, but before he could do so, someone came to buy the drugs. Greedy, the defendant sold them,” the interpreter quoted Mai as saying.

“Do you know that buying and selling drugs is against the law?” “Yes,” Mai replied softly.

During the trial, Mai cried and sobbed, showing remorse. The defendant presented her difficult circumstances, her husband had passed away, her children were young, and there was no one to take care of them, asking the court to reduce her sentence. A relative of the defendant who attended the court said that since her father passed away and her mother was arrested for drugs, the young children had to take care of each other. Mai's eldest child also dropped out of school to work to earn money to support her younger siblings. Although her relatives felt sorry for her, they could only support her a small part because everyone's circumstances were difficult.

During the time the court deliberated, Mai cried and repeatedly wiped her tears with her mask. The female defendant was worried about the future of her children without their parents to teach and raise them. Although her relatives sitting below constantly encouraged her, Mai continued to cry.

Considering that in this case the defendant committed the crime with many mitigating circumstances such as honestly confessing, repenting, being an ethnic minority, and having difficult family circumstances, after a comprehensive review of the case, the court sentenced the defendant Xong Thi Mai to 20 years in prison for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.

Sentenced to 20 years in prison, will the young widow realize that her greed has left her children, who were already fatherless, without a mother, and will awaken the remaining goodness in the defendant...