"Alcoholism" leads the way to... prison.

(Baonghean.vn) - When given the opportunity to speak his final words, the defendant stood before the dock and sobbed uncontrollably, expressing remorse for drinking too much alcohol out of "respect for a friend" and then killing his wife.

Sitting in the victim's row was the defendant's wife, next to her was their second daughter, a ninth-grade student, who came to testify in court. Tears streamed down both mother and daughter's faces. The first-instance trial of the "murder" case against defendant Thai Doan Hoan (44 years old, residing in Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province) took place at the Nghe An Provincial People's Court on the morning of April 8, 2016.

Defendant Thai Doan Hoan before the court.

"Father, don't kill Mother."

From early morning, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai (39 years old, residing in Lang Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, Nghe An province) traveled to Vinh City with her three children and relatives to attend the trial. Everyone's face was somber; they spoke little and rarely conversed with each other. The most painful thing was that Ms. Hai attended the trial of her husband as the victim. The couple's second child, Th.Th.H (a 9th-grade student), also attended the trial as a witness.

Ms. Hai and her niece H. still cannot forget the tragedy of the day the incident occurred.

According to the indictment of the Provincial People's Procuracy, on the afternoon of December 15, 2015, Hoan boarded a Cuong Long passenger bus to leave his hometown in Yen Thanh district (Quang Ngai province) to work as a construction worker on Ly Son island. After the bus had traveled 500 meters, Hoan remembered that he had forgotten the medicine his relatives had sent to a construction worker on the island, so he turned back to get it.

On the way home, Hoan met Nguyen Huu Ngoc, his close friend. Ngoc drove Hoan home. Instead of getting medicine and continuing his journey to earn a living, Hoan bought alcohol and raised a glass... with his friend.

After drinking alcohol, Mr. Ngoc went home. Around 8:45 PM that same night, Hoan went to bed, but due to anger at his wife for not caring about him and distancing herself from him, and anger at being beaten many times by Nguyen Van Dat (his wife's younger brother) for "always coming home drunk and beating his wife," he conceived the idea of ​​killing his wife.

While his wife was asleep in bed, Hoan got up, grabbed a sharp knife, went into the room, and called out, "Mother Hai!", simultaneously holding the knife to her neck. Hai pushed Hoan's hand away and frantically called out to her eldest son, "Wife! Hao, Father is killing Mother!" Hoan still held the knife to her neck, injuring her.

Th.TH (the second daughter) ran to Hoan's right arm, pulled him closer, and cried out, "Father! Don't kill Mother!"

Hoan dropped the knife to the ground. The girl kicked the knife into a dark corner of the house. Hai lay still, eyes closed, pretending to be dead. Hoan stopped and went out into the yard, shouting, "I've killed my wife!"

Afterward, Hao called her uncle and neighbors to take her mother to the hospital for emergency treatment. Meanwhile, Hoan was apprehended by the Lang Thanh commune police for committing a crime in flagrante delicto. The Forensic Center of Nghe An province assessed Hai's injuries and concluded: "The health damage caused by the injuries at the time of assessment was 6%."

I'm sorry, wife, I'm sorry, son.

The defendant, Hoan, wept uncontrollably in court.

Throughout the trial, H sat crying, constantly wiping away tears. Since childhood, she had witnessed her "drunk father" beating her mother many times. H "didn't believe her father killed her mother; she believed he acted that way because he was drunk that day."

Ms. Hai was still terrified and traumatized, sitting huddled in the victim's chair. Tearfully, she said, "My husband and I have been married for 19 years and have three children, but he constantly beat and abused me. Whenever he drank heavily, he would come home and beat me. Everyone tried to persuade him to quit drinking, but to no avail."

Hoan, however, blamed it on something else: "Because... I drank too much alcohol. That morning I left with my bag but couldn't find a ride to Ly Son Island, so I met a friend and drank until 1 PM. Then, in the afternoon, I went drinking again to say goodbye. After drinking, I realized I'd forgotten my medicine, so I went back to meet my friend and drank again out of respect for him."

When the presiding judge asked if he had realized the harm of drinking alcohol and the harm he had caused, Hoan burst into tears in the dock, sobbing as he said, "I am a low-educated man with limited understanding. I humbly beg for a reduced sentence, hoping for leniency so that I can return home soon to mend my marriage, reintegrate into the community, and work hard to support my children's education."

When the judges retired to deliberate, Hoan's sister stood up, holding Hoan's youngest child (2 years old), so that the father and child could see each other after a long time. Hoan sobbed, apologizing to his wife and child. His sister also cried, saying, "Have you learned your lesson (meaning you've stopped drinking and acting recklessly)? Do you feel remorse?" Hoan nodded and cried, saying, "I know, sister."

The trial court, in its first instance, considered the defendant's criminal act to be exceptionally dangerous and brutal, committed solely due to marital conflict. The fact that his wife did not die was beyond his control, therefore a severe punishment was necessary. However, considering that the defendant surrendered, confessed honestly, showed remorse, his parents had contributed to the revolution, this was his first offense, and no fatal outcome occurred, a partial reduction of the sentence was considered.

After considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the trial panel of the Nghe An Provincial People's Court sentenced Hoan to 7 years in prison for murder. The defendant was handcuffed and escorted to a closed van, but he still turned his head to look at his family. His wife and child wept, watching the van carrying him speed away.

Khanh An