A few eels were exchanged for 26 years in prison.
(Baonghean)Seeing Hung stealing eels from his pipe, Phuong and An attacked him, beating him to death before fleeing into the night.
On the afternoon of April 22, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court sentenced Luu Xuan Phuong (born in 1985), residing in Tay Lai hamlet, Phu Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, to 14 years in prison for murder. His accomplice, Luu Xuan An (born in 1986), also residing in the same hamlet, received a 12-year prison sentence.
The trial revealed that Phuong and An worked as eel trappers, catching eels at night in the rice fields of Yen Thanh district. Around the beginning of November 2012, they discovered that someone was stealing eels from their traps, so they both went out to catch the thieves.
In the early morning of November 4, 2012, Phuong woke up, rode his motorbike to An's house, and together they went to the fields to look for the eel thief. On the way, they both carried half-bricks as weapons. When they arrived at a field in Hau Thanh commune, Phuong and An spotted Nguyen Xuan Hung (born in 1966), residing in Van Thanh commune, using an electric fishing device to steal eels from the traps they had set in the field. Seeing this, Phuong asked, "Why are you stealing our traps?" Before Hung could react, Phuong added, "Let's beat him to death!" Then both of them attacked Hung with bricks.
After a struggle, Phuong and An subdued Hung and together they used bricks to hit him on the head, causing the victim to cry out, "I know I was wrong, please spare me." Only when the victim collapsed in the rice field did they stop and leave.
Defendants Phuong and An at the trial.
The following morning, upon learning of Hung's death, An immediately turned himself in to the police, while Phuong fled to Laos. When authorities relentlessly pursued him, knowing he couldn't hide forever, Phuong finally returned to Vietnam to surrender.
According to the forensic examination results from the Criminal Technical Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police, Mr. Hung died from "cerebral hemorrhage due to trauma." At the first-instance trial on April 22nd, hundreds of people from Phu Thanh, Van Thanh, and Hau Thanh communes in Yen Thanh district came to the provincial court to observe the trial. Throughout the trial, many people expressed sympathy for the two defendants, Phuong and An. Both came from difficult family circumstances and had to raise eels to earn extra income; it was only because of a moment of anger and recklessness that they had to pay the price for murder.
Hundreds of people from Yen Thanh district crowded the courtroom to watch the trial.
In addition to the combined sentence of 26 years in prison, the two defendants were also ordered to pay the victim's family over 80 million VND in compensation and provide monthly support for the victim's child until the child reaches 18 years of age.
Nguyen Khoa
