Having 2 criminal records for drug trafficking and still justifying... because he's afraid his children will drop out of school

(Baonghean.vn)- In court, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh cried and said that she sold drugs to earn money for her children's school fees. However, this reason could not convince the jury because this was the third time the defendant sold white death.

The trial of Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh (born in 1975, residing in Thach Dien commune, Thach Ha, Ha Tinh) proceeded quite quickly because Thanh admitted all her crimes. Except for a friend in Vinh who came and paid Thanh 200,000 VND in court fees, none of Thanh's relatives attended the trial. "I don't have a husband (in fact, Thanh and her husband have been divorced for a long time - PV). The children just gave birth, the two younger ones are working as servants...", Thanh burst into tears.

Thanh has four children, the oldest born in 1992, the youngest born in 2004. When the oldest was only eight years old, Thanh was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison by the People's Court of Ha Tinh province for illegal drug trafficking. However, because he was raising his young children, Thanh was granted a stay of execution.

Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh cried in court

In 2005, Thanh was arrested again and sentenced to 9 years in prison by the People's Court of Ha Tinh province for the same crime. Combining both sentences, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh had to serve a sentence of 13 years and 4 months in prison (excluding the time in detention). On April 14, 2015, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh completed her prison sentence.

“While serving my sentence, my two older children worked to support themselves, while my two younger children had to work for others. When I got out of prison, I took them home to send them to school, to make up for some of their losses,” Thanh confided.

At the end of 2015, Thanh was invited by a friend to visit Vinh City. Knowing that Thanh was preparing to go to Vinh, Nguyen Dinh Nam (living in Thach Ha town) asked Thanh to help him buy a heroin tree, and Nam would pay him 1 million VND. Nam gave Thanh 15 million VND, telling him "if you need more, call me".

On January 1, 2016, Thanh went to Vinh City and asked an acquaintance to help him buy heroin. Through the acquaintance, Thanh bought heroin hidden in a cigarette pack and brought it to Ha Tinh. While waiting to catch a bus home, he encountered a working group from the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department of the Provincial Police coming to inspect. Thanh threw the drug package on the ground and was discovered, arrested and a record was made of the crime.

The appraisal results showed that the drugs seized from Thanh were heroin weighing 36.79 grams and 0.31 grams of methamphetamine.

“I know my actions were wrong and I am very remorseful. But at that time, my child needed money to pay tuition, the teacher urged me but I did not have any money. I was afraid my child would have to drop out of school, so when Nam said he would pay me 1 million VND, I agreed to buy drugs for Nam to have money to pay my child’s tuition,” Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh sobbed.

Hearing Thanh justify his crime, the People's Judge said: "Not everyone in trouble sells drugs. Think about it, if everyone in trouble sold drugs like you, what would happen? You have sold drugs twice, this is the third time. You have to look back at yourself. This is not because you love your child, but because you are affecting your child."

The judge, Vi Van Chat, also said that the defendant’s love for his children could not be used as an excuse for his crime. “In addition to the mother’s love for her children, this is also the defendant’s addiction to drugs. Having been involved in drug trafficking three times and serving more than 13 years in prison, the defendant also knows how disadvantaged his children have been compared to other children. If he loved his children, after serving the previous two sentences, he should have worked hard to make up for them, not continue to deal in drugs for the third time like this,” said Judge Vi Van Chat.

In her final statement before the panel of judges deliberated, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh asked the court to consider reducing the defendant's sentence: "The defendant's eldest daughter just gave birth, and gave birth to twins, while her son-in-law was studying far away. The two younger children had to drop out of school and are now working as servants. I hope the court will reduce the defendant's sentence so that the defendant can return soon to make up for her children. The defendant is very remorseful for her criminal behavior."

The panel of judges determined that Thanh’s actions were dangerous, a case of dangerous recidivism, requiring a sentence that was sufficiently deterrent. However, during the trial, the defendant confessed honestly, repented, and her family had contributed to the revolution... These are mitigating circumstances according to the law. After considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh to 13 years in prison.

After hearing the judge's verdict, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thanh stayed behind to thank the panel of judges and the representative of the Provincial People's Procuracy, then calmly got into the car and returned to the prison. On Thanh's face, the tears of "love for her child" had long since dried!

Nhu Binh