The late apology of the son who was sentenced to death

Tran Vu• November 14, 2020 14:57

(Baonghean.vn) - Throughout the trial, Hung (residing in Vinh City, Nghe An) appeared calm, not admitting to the act of buying and selling more than 6.4 kg of drugs. But in his final words, the defendant asked for a chance to live. Especially when he saw his father's sad eyes, the defendant Hung was moved to apologize to his parents and relatives "for suffering because of me".

The fateful trip

Defendant Nguyen Viet Hung (born in 1985, residing in Vinh City) appeared in court on a chilly morning in early November. Hung was charged with "Illegal drug trafficking". The defendant answered the jury's questions clearly but gave a evasive statement, not admitting to the crime.
In a calm voice, Hung confessed that in 2014, while visiting Quang Binh province, he happened to meet a Laotian man named Vu. At this fateful meeting, the Laotian man said that he had drugs and that if Hung knew anyone who wanted to buy the “goods”, he should contact him. After that meeting, the two continued to contact each other for many years.

Defendant Hung at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

On July 17, 2018, the Lao people asked Hung to go to Huong Son district (Ha Tinh) to discuss the specific matter.drug traffickingHung took a bus more than 70 km to the mountainous district of Huong Son to meet his “partner”. At this meeting, Vu said he would transfer 5-7 kg of drugs, each kg costing 200 million VND. Thus, the total amount that Hung had to pay in this business deal was about 1.2 billion VND. However, because Hung did not have enough money, the seller asked him to prepare a small amount to pay in advance, and the rest on credit.

Four days later, Vu continued to call Hung and asked, “Do you want to get drugs?”. Hung answered “Yes” to the Laotian, so the seller told him that they would send the “goods” via bus running from Huong Son (Ha Tinh) to Vinh City. That same afternoon, Hung invited another friend to the bus stop in Vinh City to pick up the goods. When Hung had just received the goods from the bus staff, the police force arrived and arrested the person and the evidence. The total amount of drugs seized from Nguyen Viet Hung was more than 6.4 kg of drugs.
At the end of February 2019, the People's Court of Nghe An province brought defendant Nguyen Viet Hung to trial for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics". At this trial, the defendant stated that he bought the "goods" for gradual use and resale for profit. The court of first instance sentenced defendant Nguyen Viet Hung to life in prison for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics". After the first instance verdict, the defendant did not appeal, but the High People's Procuracy in Hanoi appealed, requesting the Nghe An court to retry the case in the direction of increasing the penalty for defendant Hung. Because the sentence that the court sentenced defendant Hung was not commensurate with the crime. Therefore, the court decided to annul the first instance verdict and return the case file for re-investigation to ensure that the case was tried for the right person and the right crime.
Late Apology
At the trial, defendant Hung changed his testimony from his previous appearance. The defendant said that he was addicted to drugs and bought them for his own use, not to sell them. “The defendant said that he bought the drugs for his own use, why did he buy them in such a large quantity, for a sum of billions of dong? That sounds absurd.” In response to the panel of judges’ questions, the defendant said that he only ordered 50 grams of drugs from the Laotians for his own use, and that he did not know how much the seller had sent. “That day, when I had just received the package from the bus staff, before I could move it, the police came and arrested me, so I did not know how many drugs were inside. It was only when the investigating agency inspected and weighed the drugs that I realized the amount of drugs was more than 6.4 kg,” defendant Hung said in court.

Defendant Hung also said that the court's prosecution of him for "Illegal drug trafficking" was incorrect, instead he only committed the crime of illegal possession of drugs.

The defendant's father at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

The defendant's defense attorney also argued about the defendant's crime. The attorney argued that the defendant was only guilty of possession, and that the charges brought by the Procuracy did not have sufficient basis. However, the representative of the Procuracy holding the right to prosecute at the trial maintained his view of prosecuting the defendant Nguyen Viet Hung for "Illegal drug trafficking."

Attending the trial as a person with related rights, the defendant’s father requested the authorities to return the motorbike that the defendant used to commit the crime. According to the defendant’s father, the motorbike belonged to his grandparents and they did not know about their son’s actions. The father also shared his feelings when his son was in trouble with the law. For his family, it was a great sadness and pain…
Although he denied his guilt throughout the trial, in his final words, the defendant Hung asked the jury for a chance to live. He also turned to apologize to his parents, relatives and friends. “I apologize to my parents and relatives. Because of me, everyone has suffered,” Hung said, tears welling up in his eyes as he looked at his father sitting absentmindedly in the first row.

During the deliberation, the little child, about 4 years old, followed his relatives into the court to see his father. As soon as he saw the little child, Hung was confused. The young father appeared calm, asking about and cuddling his child. It seemed that because the child was still young, he did not pay much attention to his father and just played innocently.
A moment later, the defendant's eldest child with his first wife was also led by his family to sit on the upper seat near Hung. After some polite questions, the father and son remained silent. Relatives said that partly because Hung had been in prison many times, the father and son were somewhat distant, so their relationship was somewhat affected. It is known that, in addition to this court appearance, Nguyen Viet Hung had been brought to trial twice for the crimes of "Organizing gambling" and "Disturbing public order". After completing his sentence, Hung worked as a freelancer in the locality to make a living. But not long after his rehabilitation, this father reoffended.
The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant trafficked in an exceptionally large quantity of drugs. The defendant’s actions were dangerous to society. Although the defendant’s testimony at this trial was inconsistent and dishonest, based on the defendant’s self-confessions, the minutes of the investigation and interrogation witnessed by his lawyer, as well as the evidence and public debate at the trial, there was sufficient basis to prove that the defendant Hung had purchased drugs for his own use and resold them for profit. The defendant’s recidivism was an aggravating circumstance in this case.

Considering the whole case, the People's Court sentenced Nguyen Viet Hung to death for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".
Receiving the highest sentence, the defendant only had time to wave goodbye to his relatives before being escorted home. Looking at his son, the man in his fifties' eyes were also red. Was the defendant's apology to his parents and relatives too late at this point?