The forgiveness of a wife who narrowly escaped death after being poisoned by her ex-husband with rat poison

The husband's justification for poisoning his ex-wife

Chu Van Sang (55 years old) and Nguyen Thi Anh (48 years old) used to be husband and wife, living together in Hung Dong commune, Vinh city, with 2 children. But then due to irreconcilable conflicts, in 2013 they officially divorced.

Even though they had gone their separate ways, they still lived in the same house. Every day, each did their own work to take care of their own lives. About a year after the divorce, Sang suffered a stroke and had to be rushed to the hospital for a long period of treatment. At that time, the person directly taking care of Sang was none other than his ex-wife.

Not only did she stay by and take care of her ex-husband in the hospital, when she returned home, Ms. Anh also helped Sang practice walking to regain his health. Thanks to the care of his ex-wife, Sang recovered somewhat, but he still had difficulty walking and holding things with one hand. Ms. Anh's devoted care for her ex-husband made many people admire him.

Defendant Chu Van Sang. Photo: Tran Vu

During their time together, Sang often raised his voice at his ex-wife, especially when asking for money. Around July 2020, when he learned that his ex-wife had just sold her private land for money, Sang repeatedly asked for 10 million VND but was refused. Therefore, the two sides had a conflict.

On the morning of August 12, 2020, after coming home from work, Ms. Anh heated up a pot of chicken soup for breakfast. While waiting for the food to cool, she went to the back garden to work. At this time, Sang thought back to the story of asking for money but his ex-wife did not give it, so he had the idea of ​​killing his wife. Thinking and doing, Sang went to the Ga market area (Vinh city) to buy a package of rat poison from an unknown woman. Coming home, Sang sneaked into the kitchen, leftrat poisoninto the pot of chicken soup. During the process, rat poison powder spilled on the gas stove, so Sang used a rag to clean it. At the same time, Ms. Anh came in and discovered her ex-husband's unusual behavior, so she asked. Alarmed, Sang went outside.

Suspicious, Ms. Anh did not dare to eat the pot of chicken soup and reported the incident to the authorities. After testing the chicken soup broth, the authorities discovered the presence of rat poison. Knowing that the incident had been exposed, Chu Van Sang went to the police station to confess.

At the witness stand, defendant Sang stated that his act of putting rat poison in his ex-wife's chicken soup was an impulsive act, due to his inability to control himself and not premeditated.

The Ex-Wife's Forgiveness

Attending the trial as a victim, Ms. Anh stated: “I never expected him to do such a cruel thing. Even after we were divorced, I still took care of him, provided him with medicine and meals. I felt sorry for him because he was sick and couldn’t bear to leave him alone.” She continued to state that she had heard her husband scold her many times, “I will kill you” whenever he was not satisfied with something or when he couldn’t get money. But she didn’t think her ex-husband would poison her with rat poison.

“I thought, he is so sick, and has difficulty walking, how could he dare to kill me? Because I am the one who takes care of him every day. Therefore, when I heard him threaten to kill me, I didn’t pay much attention, but I didn’t expect him to actually do it,” she said. Luckily, she discovered the incident in time and didn’t eat that bowl of chicken soup.

Attending court as a victim, Ms. Anh asked for a reduced sentence for her ex-husband. Photo: Tran Vu

Then this woman explained further, although we were divorced, we still had feelings for each other. For more than twenty years as husband and wife, I was often scolded by my husband and even after the divorce, I still suffered the same thing, but I did not accept it. Partly because I understood his personality, partly because I thought of the children. So today, standing in the position of the victim in the case, I would like to ask for a reduced sentence for the defendant. I would like the court to give him a light sentence because he is also suffering from many illnesses. She did not request any civil compensation. Listening to the statements of his ex-wife, who was also the victim in the case, Sang sat silently. Only when the panel of judges suggested that the defendant look at his wife and apologize.

The representative of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province, who held the right to prosecute at the trial, stated that the defendant's actions were despicable. Just because he could not get money, he cruelly planned to deprive his ex-wife of her right to live. Meanwhile, it was Ms. Anh who had taken care of and served the defendant for many years, even after the two had divorced. The fact that the victim did not die was beyond the defendant's subjective will. Therefore, a severe punishment is needed.

Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the People's Court sentenced Chu Van Sang to 8 years in prison for murder.

The court ended, seeing her ex-husband struggling to get up to leave, Ms. Anh did not forget to remind Sang to put on more clothes to keep warm. Hearing that, Sang bowed his head and walked with difficulty out of the court.

*The victim's name has been changed