Late regret of the man who killed his ex-wife's family
Le Minh Hai said he moved from Nghe An to Ha Tinh to start a business. Many times he had to listen to rumors about "living with his wife's family" and "depending on his wife's family". Sometimes he felt sad but didn't care too much.
Throughout the trial at the Ha Tinh People's Court, Le Minh Hai, 38 years old, residing in Ha Huy Tap ward, cried continuously, expressing remorse for his moment of lack of control that caused pain to many families. In the hall below, the victim's family said "there is nothing more to say" to Hai, asking the panel of judges to punish him severely.
According to the verdict, Hai is from Hung Nguyen district (Nghe An), married Ms. Bui Thi Dung, residing in Ha Huy Tap ward, Ha Tinh city in 2007, and has one child together. Hai and his wife built a house on land borrowed from Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (72 years old, Ms. Dung's mother) in residential group 4. In 2018, the couple had conflicts, separated, and filed for divorce in court. When the Le Duan road extension project was implemented, the house where Hai and his wife used to live was subject to site clearance and was compensated with more than 216 million VND. On September 7, 2020, Ms. Van and her son Bui Van Quy (28 years old) received the above amount.
Hai then met with Ms. Van's family to discuss the division of compensation money. The two sides agreed that when Hai and Ms. Dung decided to divorce, they would split the money in half. On the morning of September 28, 2020, after receiving the divorce decision from the People's Court of Ha Tinh City, Hai called Ms. Dung and Mr. Quy to meet at noon that same day to divide the money.
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| Defendant Hai at the trial at the end of January at the People's Court of Ha Tinh. Photo: Duc Hung |
Ms. Van's family later replied that they had to wait for Ms. Dung to return from Hanoi before closing the deal. At 1 p.m. the same day, Hai left the knife in the trunk of his motorbike and went to his ex-wife's mother's house. During the negotiation, the two sides argued loudly. Authorities accused Hai of opening the trunk of his motorbike, taking out the knife and attacking three women. As a result, two of his ex-wife's sisters, Bui Thi Nhung, 48, and Bui Thi Huynh, 42, died. Ms. Van was injured and suffered 8% health damage.
At the trial in January, Hai said that before committing the crime, there was no conflict and he did not care about money, he wanted to talk properly and gently with his ex-wife's family members. "The defendant saw Nhung and Huynh speaking harshly and insultingly, so he swung a knife and slashed them. During the scuffle, the defendant accidentally took their lives. At that time, the defendant did not understand why he acted so blindly, but after calming down, it was too late," Hai said.
The defendant stated that he moved from Nghe An to Ha Tinh to start a business, and had to listen to rumors about "living with his wife's family" and "depending on his wife's family" many times. Sometimes he felt sad but did not care too much. In the early days of their marriage, their life was happy. In 2017, the couple had a conflict due to debt and separated. When his wife went to Hanoi to work, Hai also took his son to rent a room, worked as a car mechanic to make a living, and had little contact with his wife's family.
Things changed in September 2019, when some friends told them that the land where Hai and his wife had previously built their house was being compensated by the government. Hai then called Quy to question him and was told that they would meet to divide the money once the divorce proceedings were completed.
"On the day the deal was closed, my ex-wife's mother's family told me to wait until Dung came back before giving her the money. I thought they were cheating me, so they deliberately delayed and did not deliver hundreds of millions of dong as agreed, so I took action," Hai said of the reason for the crime.
Representatives of the victims' families attending the court all expressed that the loss was too great, and did not want to comment or say anything more to rekindle the pain. Meeting her ex-husband in such an ironic situation, Ms. Dung did not go to the dock when questioned by the judge. "My heart aches. The victims are my mother and two sisters, and the defendant is my son's father," Ms. Dung said, stuttering, not knowing how to respond appropriately. "I am still in shock. I hope he will be a good person in the next life," she said.
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| Hai and his mother (in black) cried when they met during the court session. Photo: Duc Hung |
The representative of the Ha Tinh People's Procuracy wiped away tears many times when listening to the defendant and the victim's family. The prosecutor argued that the case had left very painful consequences, and hoped that everyone would consider this a lesson; when there is a dispute over money, it must be resolved thoroughly and in accordance with the law so as not to cause damage to the parties.
In his final wish presentation, Hai said "no words can express it all, I feel very guilty". "Today is very likely the last time I see everyone together like this. If I have to pay with my life, I would like to volunteer to donate my body to the country's medical industry. I hope this will help someone in this country. This is from the bottom of my heart, I hope you will consider it", Hai stated.
The panel of judges replied that after the trial ended, Hai could submit a petition stating his wish to donate his body to medical facilities for consideration.
The court determined that the defendant could not be reformed and needed to be permanently isolated from social life, and sentenced him to death for the crime.Killing, according to Article 123 of the Penal Code. Hai must compensate the families of Nhung and Huynh more than 400 million VND, and provide monthly support of 700,000 VND for the three children of the two victims until they turn 18. Currently, the defendant has authorized his mother to compensate the two victims more than 90 million VND.
Receiving the sentence, Hai was silent, raising his hands to his face to wipe away tears.
