The belated regrets of a man who has been imprisoned four times.

After overcoming his habit of using two fingers, he started dealing drugs.

In 2003, Xoan beganindigoShe received a two-year prison sentence for "theft of property." Xoan explained her first-time offense as a result of youthful impulsiveness and a lack of legal knowledge. Having never attended school, she was illiterate. Unable to read or write, and wanting money, Xoan became involved in the theft.

Three years later, Xoan received another two-year prison sentence for the same crime of pickpocketing. The fact that he committed the same crime twice in such a short time caused people to grow weary of him. In 2008, Xoan completed his sentence. Not long after, he married a woman one year older than him named Lo Thi Sen.

Lo Van Xoan is escorted to the courtroom. Photo: Tran Vu

One might have thought that the births of her two children in 2010 and 2012 would motivate Xoan to focus on her work and set a good example for her children. However, in 2013, Lo Van Xoan was arrested by the police for illegally possessing narcotics and sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison.

Instead of learning from her husband's imprisonment, Lo Thi Sen followed in his footsteps. In 2016, she participated in a large-scale drug trafficking operation and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

When Sen went to prison with an indefinite sentence, her husband was still serving his sentence. Therefore, their two young children had to rely on their grandmother. In 2019, Xoan completed her sentence and returned home to see her two young children living in poverty. Xoan felt guilty towards her children.

During this time, Xoan took care of his child while also making time to visit his wife in prison. He chose to work as a hired laborer clearing acacia trees to earn a living. Relatives and neighbors felt somewhat reassured that Xoan was taking care of his family. However, after only a short time, Lo Van Xoan returned to his old ways. During one of his hired work clearing acacia trees, Xoan became involved in a criminal operation.drug traffickingnew.

Accordingly, on August 14, 2020, Xoan was hired to plant acacia trees when she met Kềm Văn Tùng (born in 1979), residing in Châu Lộc commune, Quỳ Hợp district. There, Xoan told Tùng that she had drugs and asked him to contact her if anyone wanted to buy them. Hearing this, Tùng then sought out buyers. Subsequently, Xoan purchased four packets of drugs from an unknown man for 9.6 million VND.

On August 21st, Xoan sold the drugs to Tung for 12 million VND. Because he didn't have the money, Tung asked for an extension. When Tung was reselling the drugs to another customer, he was arrested by the police. The two defendants, Lo Van Xoan and Kem Van Tung, were prosecuted for "Illegal trafficking of narcotics."

A father's message as he goes to prison for the fourth time.

On the day the two defendants, Lo Van Xoan and Kem Van Tung, appeared in court, while Tung was visited by his wife, children, and relatives, Xoan was alone. Xoan confided to the writer, as if trying to reassure himself: “I can’t blame my relatives because the distance is difficult and expensive. Besides, my elderly mother-in-law is probably too ill to come to court today.” After a moment of silence, Xoan continued: “And I don’t want my relatives to witness this and be saddened again. I’ve already caused them so much suffering.”

Xoan didn't try to justify his crime, but admitted his wrongdoing. The only thing he couldn't understand was why his wife got involved in drug trafficking. "When I had about three years left in prison, I heard from relatives that Sen had been arrested for drugs. I was shocked, because every time I brought our children to visit her, she encouraged me to try to reform. And yet..."

Recounting his life after being released from prison, Xoan said that because he had no home and his wife was also in prison, he and his two children lived with his mother-in-law. Every day, Xoan earned a few million dong a month by distributing glue for hire, but human greed is boundless, and he fell into temptation once again...

When asked if he regretted anything, Xoan nodded. “What is your biggest regret?” Xoan said he felt guilty towards his children. He fears for their future now that both parents are in prison. “I just hope my two children grow up to be good people and don’t fall into the same trap as their parents,” Xoan told his children through the writer.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, defendant Lo Van Xoan committed the crime under circumstances of dangerous recidivism and therefore sentenced him to 17 years in prison; defendant Kem Van Tung was sentenced to 16 years in prison.