Late confession of a man who robbed money and fled abroad

Staging robbery in the dead of night

The day of the trial of Nguyen Thinh Thi (27 years old), residing in Ngoc Son commune, Thanh Chuong district, for the crime of“Robbery”,Not a single relative attended. Thi said that his wife is currently abroad and their 5-year-old child lives with his grandparents. As for why his relatives did not come to court today, the defendant shook his head.

Before getting into trouble with the law, Thi was a welder in Hanoi. Every month, if he worked enough days, he could earn nearly ten million. Thi justified that his income would not be enough to live in the capital, plus raising a small child. Therefore, when he heard his friend from the same hometown invite him to Nghe An to rob property, Thi nodded in agreement.

Accordingly, around September 2019, Thi was invited by his friend Nguyen Dang Hao (31 years old, residing in Ngoc Son commune, Thanh Chuong district) to return to his hometown to rob a foreigner. Hao had the idea of ​​robbing because he lost a football bet and borrowed money from his cousin but was unsuccessful.

Defendant Nguyen Thinh Thi was sentenced to 8 years in prison for robbery. Photo: Tran Vu

Therefore, when he learned that his cousin was preparing to take two Chinese people to Vietnam to buy buffaloes and cows to sell for profit, Hao had the idea of ​​robbing them. When Tan learned of his cousin's intention, he objected, but later provided Hao with the identification of the two foreigners.

Hao and Thi took a bus to Nghe An and intercepted two Chinese men in Ngoc Son commune. At around 2:00 a.m. on September 27, 2019, when Tan and the two Chinese men had just gotten off the bus, Hao and Thi suddenly attacked them, sprayed pepper spray in their faces, and robbed them of 57,000 yuan (equivalent to 182 million VND).

Early the next morning, Tan led two Chinese women to the police station, pretending to have been robbed. However, due to Tan's inconsistent statements, the police discovered that the incident was not as the woman had described. Tan then bowed his head and admitted that he had colluded with Thi and Hao to commit the robbery.

Although Tan repeatedly contacted his accomplices to advise them to surrender, they were not successful. The investigation agency issued arrest warrants for Nguyen Thinh Thi and Nguyen Dang Hao. As for Tran Thi Tan, at the trial held in 2020, this defendant was sentenced to 5 years in prison for robbery and is currently serving her sentence.

“That was the biggest mistake of my life”

As for Nguyen Thinh Thi, after more than 3 years on the run to Laos, he turned himself in in July 2022. When asked about his days on the run, the defendant said that he fled to Laos because he was “afraid of going to jail”. While there, Thi worked as a lumberjack to make a living. The defendant admitted that he contacted his relatives during his time on the run but did not have the courage to turn himself in.

When mentioning his wife who was working far away, Thi bowed his head and said that not long after he escaped, his wife also boarded a plane to work abroad. “We rarely talked to each other. Now that I am in prison like this, our feelings will probably be gone,” Thi said sadly. The defendant admitted that listening to his friend and participating in the robbery was “the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Now I don’t know who to blame, I only blame myself,” Thi continued. The defendant also said that in this robbery, he only “profited” from the restaurant meal on the day of the crime. As for the 50 million VND he was divided, he asked his wife to transfer the money to Hao to pay back the victim. However, the investigation agency determined that it was not proven that the defendant’s wife had transferred the money because some information did not match.

At the trial, the defendant expressed his sincere confession, repented, and explained his difficult circumstances and young children to ask the court to consider reducing his sentence.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant's criminal behavior was dangerous to society, directly infringed on the property rights of others protected by law, had a very negative impact on security, order, and social safety in the locality, and needed to be strictly handled to serve as a general deterrent and prevention. Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Nguyen Thinh Thi to 8 years in prison for robbery.

8 years in prison was the price that the young man who robbed and escaped received. That sentence also ended his days of being on the run. One thing that the defendant always regrets is that if he had had enough courage to face the law sooner, maybe things would have been different now...