Conflict over land dispute, father and son kill neighbor

Nghe An Provincial People's Court has just opened the first instance trial of two defendants Tran Xuan Hung (born 1996) and Tran Xuan Dung (born 1967), both residing in Nghia Dong commune, Tan Ky district, for the crime of murder.

The two defendants have a father-son relationship, and the victim is Mr. Tran Van Q. (born 1971, neighbor).

According to the case, due to a prolonged land dispute, at about 7:15 p.m. on March 24, 2023, Mr. Tran Van Q. carried a sharp knife and stood in front of Tran Xuan Dung's house, cursing and threatening.

Then, Q. went into the house, holding a knife in one hand and two billiard balls in the other, jumped onto the chair and table, chasing and beating Dung. Seeing this, some people present quickly ran away.

At this time, Mr. Dung's wife came back from the market and quickly stopped Mr. Q. from causing trouble and "let's talk slowly". In response, Q. threatened to kill and beat Dung, but he was unsuccessful and continued to return to the yard to curse. Because he was being chased and beaten, Dung took a metal bar and hit Q.'s hand, causing the knife to fall.

At this time, Tran Xuan Hung (Dung's son) took a knife from the kitchen and ran out, slashing Mr. Q's head. Although the victim ran away, Hung continued to slash his neighbor's shoulder and back many times. Dung, standing nearby, "added" another blow to Mr. Q, causing the victim to fall unconscious.

Although the victim was rushed to the hospital, he died that same evening. As for the father and son who committed the crime, the following afternoon, Hung turned himself in to the police.

At the trial, the two defendants admitted that a long-standing land dispute had led to conflict between the two families. Defendant Dung said that the victim had repeatedly come to his house to cause trouble, which made him angry. On the day of the incident, the victim brought a knife to his house to cause trouble, causing both of them to lose control of themselves. At the trial, the two defendants apologized to the victim's family.

After the incident, the defendant’s family compensated the victim’s representative 90 million VND. At the trial, in the presence of the panel of judges, the two families reached a civil settlement and fully compensated the victim’s representative for the damages.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendants committed the crime under emotional agitation due to the victim’s illegal actions. The defendant’s family contributed to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the defendant Hung surrendered, repented, and compensated the victim’s representative for all damages… are mitigating circumstances.

Therefore, the court sentenced Tran Xuan Hung to 11 years in prison and Tran Xuan Dung to 4 years in prison for murder.