Died because of drunken beating of wife

(Baonghean.vn) - After rushing in to beat his wife after a drinking party, during the fight, Mr. Thanh was stabbed by a knife that his wife had grabbed and died.

On the morning of March 28, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened the first instance trial of Lo Thi Luan (31 years old, residing in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district) for murder due to exceeding the limits of legitimate self-defense. The victim was Lo Van Thanh (32 years old, Luan's husband).

Defendant Lo Thi Luan. Photo: Khanh An.

According to the indictment, on the afternoon of November 21, 2016, after drinking with a group of construction workers at the market, Thanh invited 5 friends to his house to continue drinking rice wine. When he returned home, seeing his husband open a large jar of rice wine to serve his friends, Luan was angry and did not greet the guests but went straight to bed. After the party ended, Luan blamed her husband: "I told you, that large jar of rice wine is for drinking at the inauguration of the new house, why didn't you listen to me?"

Being nagged, Mr. Thanh loudly cursed his greedy wife, then rushed in and beat her up, while pulling out a sharp knife and threateningly pointing it at Luan's face.

Seeing her husband threatening her with a knife, Luan rushed in to wrestle and snatched the knife from her husband's hand. However, during the scuffle, the tip of the knife in Luan's hand accidentally stabbed Thanh. Knowing he had caused trouble, Luan panicked and ran away.

At this time, Mr. Thanh chased after his wife and threatened to kill her, but when he reached the door, he collapsed. The victim was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment but did not survive. Luan then went to the Que Phong District Police to surrender and confess his actions.

At the trial, Luan confessed honestly, expressed remorse and asked for a suspended sentence so that he could raise his two children. Luan's biological parents helped their daughter compensate the victim 37 million VND.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s criminal behavior was dangerous to society, a serious case, causing panic among the public, and required strict punishment. However, considering the nature of the case, the cause of the defendant’s criminal behavior was only due to alcohol not being able to resolve the conflict. Meanwhile, the victim was also partly at fault.

“The defendant turned himself in. During the investigation and at the trial, Luan confessed sincerely and showed remorse. The defendant also asked his parents to compensate for the damage and funeral expenses. He has a good personal history, and his father participated in the resistance war and was awarded a medal,” the presiding judge stated.

Therefore, the panel of judges believes that it is necessary to apply a humane policy, giving the defendant a suspended sentence while reforming locally and having the conditions to take care of his two young children.

At the end of the trial, the panel sentenced Luan to 18 months in prison (suspended) and 36 months of probation, and ordered Luan to pay 40 million VND in compensation for mental damage to the victim's family, Luan's father and mother-in-law.

Khanh An