A mother's heartfelt words to her son who committed 'Murder'

Among the group of people who quietly came to attend the appeal trial of the murder case in which the defendant was Vu Van Thiet (24 years old), residing in Quynh Xuan ward, Hoang Mai town, there was a woman who kept her head down and cried. She was the mother of the defendant Thiet. Since her son was detained, she had been sad, had no desire to eat or drink, and her health, which was often sick, had become even weaker.

Thiet is the youngest of the couple's five children. Although life is not well off, the family always encourages their son to study hard and become a good person. Since her husband passed away and the older children started their own families, Thiet has been her support. Wanting her son to have a stable life soon, the mother has urged Thiet to get married many times. When she heard her son tell her that he had a lover and that they were about to live together, she felt somewhat relieved. But then, not long after, she was shocked to hear that her son had participated in a murder.

Kill people because of gossip

According to the case file, Thiet and the victim, Ho Sy N. (born in 1990), residing in Quynh Tan commune, Quynh Luu district, did not know each other and had no conflict with each other. At noon on September 8, 2022, while drinking, a friend told Thiet that he had a conflict with Mr. N. Thiet immediately called Mr. N. to invite him out for a beer, but he refused and started to tease him.

While waiting for Mr. N. to come out, Thiet went into the restaurant's kitchen to get a knife hidden in his pocket. When he arrived at the restaurant, Mr. N. asked who had just called him "carry the dog", Thiet admitted it was him. When Mr. N. rushed in and hit him in the head and body, Thiet immediately pulled out a knife and slashed at the other person but missed. When Mr. N. ran to hug him, Thiet stabbed him in the abdomen, causing the victim to die from a penetrating abdominal wound that ruptured his liver.

At the first instance trial, the defendant Thiet confessed honestly and admitted to his crime. After the incident, the defendant turned himself in to the police and persuaded his family to compensate the victim’s family for their mental damage. The victim did not request additional civil compensation and asked for a reduced sentence for the defendant.

The court of first instance sentenced Vu Van Thiet to 15 years in prison for "Murder". In relation to the case, the panel also sentenced 3 other defendants to sentences ranging from 3 years in prison with a suspended sentence to 4 years in prison for "Disturbing public order", the reason being that when they saw Thiet and the victim fighting, these young men also jumped into the fight.

Thiet appealed against his sentence, claiming that it was too high. At the appeal hearing, Thiet did not present any new evidence to request a reduction in his sentence. The defendant insisted that the court of first instance's conviction of him for murder with a hooligan nature was not appropriate.

The defendant stated that he had not committed any violations while living in the locality. Before the incident, the defendant had no conflict with the victim, but because he had been beaten first, he could not control his actions. Therefore, the defendant did not agree with the court of first instance that the defendant committed the crime of murder with the aggravating circumstance of being a hooligan.

“During the days of detention, the defendant realized that his actions were against the law and felt very remorseful. The defendant is still young, I ask the court to consider reducing his sentence so that he can soon return to rebuild his life and take care of his mother,” Thiet told the panel of judges.

Mother's feelings

Taking advantage of the few minutes when the court was in session, the mother struggled to approach her son. The pain of her son's mistake made her cry non-stop, so relatives had to stay by her side. As if afraid that the moment of seeing her son would pass quickly, she loudly advised: "I don't have much longer to live. Try to reform yourself so that you can return soon to start a new life and get married."

Trying to keep her voice from breaking, she continued to tell her son to “remember to listen to the officers there and reform him.” The mother also spoke loudly so everyone could hear, “Thanks to the police comrades for training him to become a good person.”

Her son committed a crime and had to go to prison, which made her heart ache. But the mother understood that the time serving the sentence would help her son become more mature, so that he would not stumble again in the future. Hearing his mother's advice, Thiet bowed his head. The defendant softly encouraged his mother to take care of her health, waiting for the day he finished serving his prison sentence.

Although the defendant argued that his murder was not a hooligan act, the appellate court found that there was no basis to consider the defendant's request. At this trial, the defendant did not present any new details compared to the first instance court, so the court rejected the defendant's appeal and upheld the 15-year prison sentence for "Murder" against Vu Van Thiet.

"The mother bears the consequences of her foolish child", even though she knew her son had to pay for his wrongdoings, the 15-year prison sentence still left the mother in pain...