Calling me to hold a knife to 'rescue', he got his prison sentence increased

On September 30, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened an appeal trial of two defendants, Phan Anh Tuan (born 2003) and Phan Viet Duc (born 2006), both residing in Minh Hop commune, Nghe An, for the crime of "Intentionally causing injury". The two defendants are brothers.

According to the case file, on the morning of December 23, 2024, Tuan and some friends went to have breakfast and drink beer at the restaurant of Mr. Vo Van Hanh (born in 1963, residing in Tay Hieu ward, Nghe An). While everyone was eating and drinking, Mr. Hanh had something to do so he asked his son, Vo Van B. (born in 1993), to stay and look after the restaurant.

At around 10:30, Tuan went to the back of the shop to use the restroom when a nearby chained dog bit his pant leg. Hearing the dog barking, Mr. B. went to the back to check and saw Tuan. Mr. B. thought Tuan kicked his dog, so the two got into an argument. B. slapped Tuan on the cheek, and in response, Tuan punched Mr. B. in the head. A person who saw the incident ran over to stop it.

After that, Mr. B. went out to sit in the yard of the restaurant while Tuan called his younger brother, Phan Viet Duc, saying "I was beaten", and at the same time instructed him to "bring the knife up here".

Hearing his brother’s cry for help, Duc took two knives and went to the shop. When he arrived, Duc asked his brother “where is that guy?” Tuan pointed inside the shop.

Duc gave his brother a knife and then they both ran into the shop to find Mr. B. Seeing Mr. B. in the chicken coop area, Duc slashed him. After being slashed, Mr. B. grabbed a shovel and swung it at Duc. However, Duc continued to slash Mr. B.'s hand twice in a row.

Immediately after that, Tuan also ran over and slashed Mr. B's shoulder and arm. After being slashed, Mr. B. ran out in front of the shop but was still chased by Tuan and slashed him. Mr. B. continued to run away but because he was bleeding profusely, he stopped and was caught up by Tuan and slashed him many times. The incident only stopped when the mother of the two subjects ran over and grabbed the knife from the hands of her two children and threw it away.

Mr. B. suffered multiple injuries to his arms, back, and shoulders, with a 44% bodily injury rate. On January 2, 2025, Mr. B. filed a request to initiate criminal proceedings.

For the crime of Intentional Infliction of Injury, the court of first instance sentenced Phan Anh Tuan to 39 months in prison, and Phan Viet Duc to 36 months in prison, but with a suspended sentence. In the civil case, the court ordered the two defendants to compensate the victim nearly 200 million VND.

The victim then appealed to increase the prison sentence for the two defendants and increase the civil compensation. The victim argued that the defendants committed hooliganism, committed the crime to the end and committed organized crime. At the same time, the victim requested the defendants to pay an additional compensation of more than 300 million VND.

At the trial, the victim stated that Tuan initially denied the crime, claiming he did not kick the dog, but later admitted it. The victim said that the defendant Tuan was young but spoke inappropriately, so she slapped him in the face.

Defendant Tuan stated that after being slapped by B., he was so upset that he called his younger brother to pick up a knife. Then, the two defendants slashed the victim many times.

The appellate court found that the defendants’ actions had caused serious injuries to the victim. In this case, defendant Phan Anh Tuan was the initiator and persuaded his younger brother to beat the victim, so the court increased the sentence from 39 months in prison to 42 months in prison. Defendant Phan Viet Duc maintained his 36-month prison sentence with a suspended sentence.