The Late Repentance of the White Death Merchant

(Baonghean.vn) - At 32 years old, without a wife or children, Ho Duc Thien had to stand before the bar for the second time to face a severe sentence of the law. When he heard the court's sentence of 17 years in prison, Thien felt remorseful and asked the court to reduce his sentence.

Like his peers, Ho Duc Thien (born in 1984, residing in Hong Son ward, Vinh city) was born and raised in a poor family but his parents created all the conditions for him to study. After finishing grade 12, he failed to pass the university entrance exam. Due to his love of playing, laziness, and only liking to socialize, Thien became a "special" character in his family.

Not long after that, Thien fell into white death and became a heavy drug addict. Thien used to be a tall young man, but since becoming addicted to drugs, his body became increasingly emaciated. Listening to his parents, Thien also realized his mistake and decided to quit at home.

Ho Duc Thien.

But less than 37 or 21 days later, unable to bear the gnawing alcohol cravings in his body, Thien took off his “shackles” and sought “white death” to satisfy his addiction. To have money to buy drugs for his own use, Ho Duc Thien thought of buying and selling drugs.

Thinking is doing, in 2012, Thien secretly bought some heroin to sell and use but was caught red-handed by the police. After this "incident", Ho Duc Thien was sentenced by the court to 2 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.

During his days in prison, Thien felt truly remorseful, deeply moved, and repented to his relatives after each visit. At the end of 2014, Ho Duc Thien completed his prison sentence and returned to his hometown, at which time Thien had just turned 30.

It was thought that this time Thien would make amends to his family, work hard to make a living, and build a happy family, but Thien still had the same old illness. Hearing that Thien had returned, his former drug addict friends came back and tried to persuade him.

On December 31, 2015, at Vinh Tan urban area, Ho Duc Thien was caught red-handed by the Drug Crime Investigation Department of Nghe An Police while transporting 1 heroin cake weighing over 350 grams.

After completing the case file, on August 9, 2016, Nghe An Provincial People's Court brought defendant Ho Duc Thien to the first instance trial. Standing in the dock, defendant Thien appeared to soften when the presiding judge allowed him to speak his final words before the court deliberated. Thien could not speak with tears in his eyes, hoping the court would give him another chance to soon return to rebuild his life.

However, this time the plea for Ho Duc Thien was too late, because this was not the first time the defendant asked the court to reduce his prison sentence. After reviewing the entire content of the case, the panel sentenced defendant Ho Duc Thien to 17 years in prison. Before being led to the car to return to the prison, Ho Duc Thien only had time to tell his aunt to send his apologies to his family. Thien's tears flowed down his cheeks again.

Central Germany