The late regret of a spoiled child

(Baonghean.vn) - Her child wanted to quit school, but she couldn't persuade him and stop him, so she had to accept. Her child was a drug addict, and she cried until he returned from rehab. Before she could smile, she was stunned when the police came to her house...

From Tuong Duong, Mrs. Tran Thi Minh (residing in Tam Quang commune) took a bus to Vinh city early. The case of her son's property robbery was brought to trial. She carried soft drinks, cakes and even a pack of cigarettes for her son. The courtroom was deserted. She sat below, 4 rows away from the bar where her son was standing, silently listening to each of his statements.

In the dock, Nguyen Duc Hung (born 1994) clearly confessed his crime. At noon on March 27, 2016, while sitting on a bus from Tuong Duong to Vinh City to hang out with friends, Hung saw a foreign guest using a rather expensive phone. Seeing the password to unlock the phone, Hung had the idea to steal it for his own use.

Mrs. Minh met her son in the courtroom.

When they reached a deserted stretch of road, Hung asked to get off the bus. When the door opened, Hung stood up, snatched the phone from the foreign passenger’s hand, jumped out of the car, and ran into the pine forest. Hung then took a bus back to Xiangyang. Two days later, he was arrested by the police.

Hung is the only son in a family of three children. Being spoiled, Hung started hanging out with his friends early on, ignoring his studies. When he reached 9th grade, Hung wanted to quit school. Mrs. Minh begged and persuaded him but failed, so she had to accept. After dropping out of school, Hung played around, hung out with bad friends, and got into drugs.

The day she found out her son was addicted, Mrs. Minh cried her eyes out and tried to convince him to go to rehab. Seeing his mother cry, Hung also felt sorry for her and promised to quit, but whenever he had an addiction attack, Hung forgot all his promises to his mother. In 2013, Hung had to go to rehab at the Social Labor Center 2.

“In June 2015, Hung was released from prison but still had to go to the district hospital every day to take medicine. I was worried so I took him there myself. Every day, we took the bus to the hospital, took the medicine and then took the bus back. The doctor said that all the test results were good, Hung was no longer addicted to drugs. In March, Hung’s sister went to the hospital, I had to go to Vinh to take care of her so Hung went to take the medicine by himself.

On March 27, after taking the medicine, Hung took a bus home. On the bus, a friend invited him to go to Vinh, which is why this incident happened. Hung used to be a drug addict, but he is very cowardly and doesn't have the guts to rob anyone. His friends must have incited him," Mrs. Minh tried to justify her son.

The jury entered the courtroom to deliberate, she carried a bag of things she had prepared in advance, and approached her child. The police officers escorting the prisoner made an exception to allow the mother and child to come closer to talk to each other. Mrs. Minh begged permission to send the candy for her child to the prison, but the gifts had to be checked in, so the officers escorting the prisoner shook their heads in disagreement.

“Mom, bring some milk home to drink. I don’t need any milk. I know my sin. Remember to come visit me, Mom. After this time, I’ve changed. When I get out of prison, I’ll start a new life, get married, work to support you, and make amends. Remember to come visit me…”, Hung’s eyes filled with tears. Hearing his son speak, Mrs. Minh also choked up…

Nguyen Duc Hung was sentenced to 12 months in prison by the provincial People’s Court. When his son got in the car to return to the camp, she frantically grabbed the gift bag and ran after him, then stood there watching until he was out of sight. “If a child is foolish, he will be punished. When he caused trouble, I was very angry and declared that if he did not change, I would disown him and no longer consider him my son, but he cried and promised to reform. I believe Hung will change…”, she said confidently.

Nhu Binh