The late regret of the carpenter who 'strangled' his friend with drugs

"Debt squeeze" friends with drugs

Ho Van Hoang (born in 1976), residing in Quynh Hau commune, Quynh Luu district (is known by many people as a skilled carpenter. Although Hoang's carpentry work is not very rich, it is enough to support himself and his family. However, from the end of 2015 until now, when Hoang started hanging out with Dang Ngoc Hung (born in 1974, residing in the same locality), who also worked as a carpenter, things have changed.

Even though he knew Hung was a notorious criminal with 6 previous convictions for gambling and drugs, Hoang still became friends. Part of the reason was because Hung often found business deals for Hoang. And after hanging out with his friends, Hoang fell into drug addiction without realizing it. From close friends and workmates, Hoang and Hung became drug addicts.

Defendant Ho Van Hoang in court. Photo: Tran Vu

Around June 2019, Hung was short of money so he asked Hoang to borrow 50 million VND to take care of his business. Out of respect for their long-time friendship, Hoang asked his wife to lend him the money. After a while, Hoang asked to repay his debt but Hung kept delaying it over and over again.

On the evening of October 19, 2019, Hoang went to Hung's house but saw no one at home. Looking around the house, Hoang saw a package of drugs under the coffee table, so he took it home with the intention of paying off his debt of 50 million VND. After getting the drugs, Hoang divided them into many packages, hid them in many places in his house to use and resell when there were buyers. Just like that, Hoang turned the house where his wife and children were living into a place to hide drugs and carry out drug trafficking with drug addicts in the area.

On December 14, 2019, Hoang sold drugs to Tinh - a drug addict in Quynh Luong commune for 3 million VND. After buying the drugs, Tinh brought them home to hide and use, but was discovered and arrested by Quynh Luu District Police. 6 days later, when Hoang was taking out the drugs to use, he was discovered and caught red-handed by Quynh Luu District Police. Searching Ho Van Hoang's house, the authorities discovered many bags of drugs weighing 62.305 grams.

The pain of a wife and the tears of a mistaken husband

One day in early May, the weather was as hot as fire, Ms. Ho Thi H. (born in 1979) and her relatives went to the People's Court of Nghe An province to attend the trial of her husband - defendant Ho Van Hoang for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking". Throughout the process of watching her husband's trial, she sat quietly, sadness clearly shown on the face of the haggard woman.

As a janitor at a local school, she was often absent from home. Because of this, this woman did not know that her husband was addicted to drugs. She shared that although she sometimes noticed unusual signs in her husband, she did not dare to ask more. When the matter was exposed, she was in pain when she learned that her husband had been addicted for many years.

Ms. H. sat quietly throughout the entire process of watching her husband's trial. Photo: Tran Vu

In court, Hoang said he had been addicted to drugs for 4 years. As a carpenter, he could earn about 15 million VND per month. However, because of his addiction, he had to spend about 6 million VND per month to buy drugs. Because of this, his family's economy was getting worse and worse, and life was difficult. He understood the harmful effects of drugs, but he could not get out of that quagmire.

Meeting her husband in court, Ms. H - Hoang's wife hardly said anything. Only when the court deliberated did she dare to approach her husband and ask a few questions. In the silent auditorium, tears just kept falling down the face of this unfortunate woman.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. In this case, the defendant had mitigating circumstances such as his honest confession and repentance; his father was a war invalid; his family had donated land to build a new rural area, which was confirmed by the government. In addition, the defendant had contributed to helping the Quynh Hau Commune Police discover a gambling den. Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Ho Van Hoang to 13 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

Sentenced to 13 years in prison, Hoang seemed to be unable to stand. The defendant sat down on the chair after hearing the court repeat the sentence, tears streaming down his face. Tears of regret, though too late for the drug-addicted carpenter. Only then did Hoang turn to Ms. H. and call out, “wife!”

Hearing her husband calling her name in tears, Ms. H. could only run after him, encouraging him to reform well to receive leniency from the law and soon return to rebuild his life.