92-year-old mother from Thai Nguyen went to Nghe An to attend the trial of her errant son

The People's Court of Nghe An province opened two trials for Vu Van Tuan (46 years old), residing in Son Cam commune, Thai Nguyen city (Thai Nguyen province) for the crime of "Illegal transportation of narcotics" in the presence of Mrs. Le Thi Kh. Although she is 92 years old, the mother still tried to travel a long distance from Thai Nguyen to Nghe An to see her son.

She said that at first, her children and grandchildren did not allow her to go, fearing that something might happen to her if she traveled a long distance. But she was determined to go to Nghe An because she knew that her age meant that she would not have many opportunities to see her children. Therefore, she and her children decided to rent a private car for convenience in traveling.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kh. attends her son's trial. Photo: Tran Vu

When asked about her child in court, Mrs. Kh. said that Tuan was the 9th of her 10 children. After his first wife passed away, Tuan married a woman nearly a generation older than him. In Thai Nguyen province, the couple ran a motel and massage service business, so their life was relatively comfortable. More than a year ago, Tuan's massage establishment had a female employee, Luong Thi Ha (29 years old), residing in Tri Le commune, Que Phong district (Nghe An province). Later, Ha became an accomplice with Tuan in a drug-related case.

It is known that while working as an employee at a massage service business, Tuan and Ha had an affair. Mrs. Kh. knew about it but after several unsuccessful attempts to persuade her son, she had to remain silent. That was also the reason why Tuan and his wife's family life was in disarray. Not long after that, she received the bad news that her son and a woman named Ha were arrested in Nghe An for illegally transporting drugs.

Defendants Vu Van Tuan and Luong Thi Ha appear in court. Photo: Tran Vu

Accordingly, on December 14, 2019, Tuan was called by Cuong (a regular customer of the massage parlor) to discuss hiring him to go to Nghe An to get drugs, and would receive 60 million VND in wages. Because his girlfriend was from Nghe An, Tuan invited Ha to go with him. That same evening, the two hired a taxi to go to Ban Ve area, Tuong Duong district to get drugs and then take them to Thai Nguyen. At around 3:00 a.m. on December 15, 2019, when they arrived at Ban Ve area, Tuan and Ha saw a man sitting on a motorbike waving to show them the way. They both got out of the car and got on this man's motorbike and were taken up the hill.

After that, Tuan walked alone up the hill while Ha waited. After a while, Tuan met a man who received a black plastic bag containing 5 heroin cakes and 30 million VND. Tuan understood that this was half of the salary he had received in advance. After going down the hill, Tuan gave his girlfriend 2 heroin cakes, and he took 3 heroin cakes and put them in his pocket to go back to the North. When the taxi reached Xieng Lip village, Yen Hoa commune, Tuong Duong district, the police arrested the man and the evidence. Tuan and Ha were prosecuted for "Illegal transportation of drugs".

The trial of the two defendants lasted for two days. Both times were four days apart, but Mrs. Kh. was present. She shared: Even though my children and grandchildren were worried about my health and did not let me go, I was determined to go. Because if I stayed at home, I would not feel at ease. The two times I sat in the car traveling a long distance to Nghe An, each time I was restless and worried. With such a large amount of drugs, I heard people say at least a life sentence. Thinking about that, my limbs became weak. I do not understand why Tuan went down that wrong path when he was no longer young. Saying that, she quickly wiped away her tears with the handkerchief in her hand.

Despite her old age and weak health, Mrs. Kh. still tried to travel the long way to court to encourage her erring child. Photo: Tran Vu

On the witness stand, Tuan confessed that he had been addicted to drugs for ten years. Therefore, when Cuong hired him to go to Nghe An to get drugs, he agreed. Because his girlfriend was from Nghe An, Tuan invited her to go with him and was arrested. "I know I was wrong, please give me a chance to return home to take care of my old mother," Tuan said, then tried to look down to find his mother. Looking at her nearly 50-year-old son standing cowering in front of the witness stand, Mrs. Kh. felt extremely sorry but was helpless. Because she knew the law was strict, especially for those who had drug-related behavior.

Considering the role of each defendant in the case, the panel sentenced Vu Van Tuan to life in prison and Luong Thi Ha to 20 years in prison for "Illegal transportation of narcotics". Seeing her son being taken away, Mrs. Kh. immediately followed the group of people going down the stairs to be near her son for a few more minutes. Her old age, weak health, and the bag on her shoulder made her steps more difficult. Only when the car left the court did the mother leave dejectedly.

Late afternoon, the hot weather made Mr. Kh's journey back to Thai Nguyen even more difficult.