Man sentenced to life in prison for working as an interpreter for a 'huge' salary
(Baonghean.vn) - Hearing that a Laotian man hired him to be a Vietnamese interpreter for a drug dealer, and that he would receive a salary of 2,000 USD after finishing the job, Lau Ba Li immediately accepted. However, while waiting for the transaction, Li was arrested.
On March 25, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Lau Ba Li (born in 1994, residing in Nam Can commune, Ky Son district, temporarily residing in Thong Vieng Kham village, Kham Cot district, Bolikhamxay, Laos) for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking”.
The indictment stated that on June 15, 2023, Lau Ba Li was at home when Va Bon Ma (about 30 years old, residing in Kham Cot district, Bolikhamxay, Laos) arranged to meet at a motel in Kham Cot district. Bon Ma invited Li to each contribute 20 million Lao Kip to buy 4 "Tâm Hồng" (a total of 120 packages of pink drugs) to bring to Vietnam to sell for profit. Because Li did not have money, Bon Ma paid for the purchase and then hired Li to go with him to Vietnam to work as a Vietnamese interpreter. Bon Ma promised to pay 2,000 USD, and Li agreed.
Five days later, the two arrived at the meeting point, Li drove a motorbike carrying Bon Ma to meet the drug dealer. That night, Bon Ma and Li went to the forest area of Xay Cham Phon district, Bolykhamxay to meet 3 Lao men (unknown origin). One of the 3 men brought a backpack containing drugs, then the group hid the motorbike in the bushes and walked into the forest.
At around 4:00 p.m. on June 23, 2023, the group went to the forest area in Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district. The three Laotians handed over the backpack containing drugs to Bon Ma and demanded an additional 20,000 Kip. Bon Ma promised to pay in full after selling the drugs and took the bag of drugs down the Ho Chi Minh trail. Bon Ma borrowed a motorbike to take Li about 10km and then rested until the next morning to continue to Thanh Tien village, Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district. Here, Bon Ma told Li to look after the "goods" while he went to meet the drug buyer to get money. However, when Bon Ma had just left, Li was arrested by the police with evidence of more than 2.2kg of pink opium.
At the trial, defendant Lau Ba Li confessed as charged in the indictment. Li confessed that Bon Ma invited him to work as a Vietnamese interpreter and would be paid 2,000 USD. Because he did not have enough money to get married, the defendant accepted.
Lau Ba Li also expressed remorse for his actions and hoped the court would consider reducing his sentence so that he could return home soon to raise his two young children.
Considering the case as a whole, the Trial Council sentenced Lau Ba Li to life in prison for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".
