Elderly mother in wheelchair, third time seeing daughter in court for drugs
At her old age, she still had to sit in a wheelchair to go to court to witness her daughter being brought to trial for the third time for drug trafficking. The mother’s tears had dried up after the repeated failures of her unrepentant child.
Single mother, 3 times drug dealer
In the first instance criminal trial of the four defendants Dang Thi Cuong (born in 1982), residing in Thai Hoa ward; Lo Van Thon (born in 1985) and Vi Dinh Phan (born in 1998), both residing in Muong Quang commune and Ly Ba Po (born in 1984), residing in Tri Le commune, Nghe An province, for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking", many people could not help but feel sorry when witnessing the image of Cuong's old mother, skinny, sitting in a wheelchair, coming to court. She burst into tears many times because her daughter "went to prison and was released from prison".
Mrs. Le Thi K. (75 years old, Cuong's mother) is used to having to go to court to witness her daughter being tried for drug trafficking. She is no longer as embarrassed as the first time she went to court with her daughter, but this time Mrs. K. feels very hurt because she does not know if she will have the chance to see her daughter again? At 75 years old, she should have had a comfortable life with her children and grandchildren, but unexpectedly, her second daughter got involved in drugs many times.
Dang Thi Cuong only studied until grade 3, grew up early and had to work hard to make a living. In 2008, Cuong became a single mother. Raising her child alone, without a stable job, this woman fell into the trap and fell into the illegal drug trafficking. The first sentence that Cuong received was 24 months in prison in 2014. Then, in 2021, Dang Thi Cuong appeared in court for the second time for the crime of illegal drug trafficking with a sentence of 2 years in prison.
Drugs not only put Cuong in prison but also caused this young woman to contract HIV. It was thought that after the sentences she had to receive and her sister being imprisoned for drugs, Cuong would turn around and start her life over. However, this woman still went back to her old path.
In this crime, Cuong spent a large sum of money to buy drugs to resell. Specifically, on the afternoon of August 27, 2024, Cuong called Lo Van Thon to order 30 packages of pink drugs, priced at 65 million VND. That afternoon, Cuong quickly took a bus to Kim Son town, Que Phong district (now Que Phong commune) to get the "goods".
As for Thon, after a customer ordered drugs, he contacted Ly Ba Po to buy the “goods”. Po then called a man named Va (address unknown), saying that someone asked to buy heroin and was told the price was 40 million VND. Va promised to give Po 3 million VND after the drug transaction was completed.
When Cuong finished paying for the drugs, Thon went to receive the “goods”. Thon put the drugs in a bamboo bag and gave it to Cuong. At the same time, Thon called Vi Dinh Phan to hire him to take Cuong and the drugs back to Thai Hoa for 6 million VND.
Upon arriving home, Dang Thi Cuong hid the drugs in the bathroom and took 9 pink pills hidden in the kitchen. At 0:30 on August 28, the police suddenly raided Cuong's house to check. At this time, Cuong hurriedly ran into the bathroom, took the drugs that she had hidden earlier and threw them behind the house, but was discovered by the police.
The investigation agency determined that Dang Thi Cuong, Lo Van Thon, Ly Ba Po and Vi Dinh Phan must bear criminal responsibility for illegally buying and selling nearly 600 grams of drugs.
Old mother in wheelchair comes to court to see her son
At the trial, the defendant admitted that she knew that drug trafficking was a violation of the law. She had been imprisoned twice for drug trafficking. At this time, the panel of judges asked: "Why did you re-offend in drug trafficking?" Dang Thi Cuong immediately gave many reasons to justify her crime. "I have HIV so I don't have the health to do other work," the female defendant said. However, the panel of judges reminded the defendant's testimony because those were unacceptable excuses.
The defendant then recounted his family’s difficult circumstances, with his mother being old, sick, and confined to a wheelchair. Since his sister went to prison for drug use, he has had to take care of his grandchildren. “My circumstances are very difficult, I have to rent a house to live in, raise my children, grandchildren, and my elderly mother alone,” Cuong explained, then burst into tears in court.
The judge sternly reminded the defendant of the reasons that Cuong gave to justify his crime. The defendant had been in prison many times, knew the provisions of the law but still deliberately reoffended, which showed contempt for the law. In life, you cannot give reasons for difficulties and then violate the law. Hearing that, Cuong bowed his head to the table.
Listening to her daughter’s testimony, Mrs. K. could not help but feel sad. Despite her old age, poor health, and difficulty in using a wheelchair, she still had to make an effort to go to court to see her daughter. Because the mother was afraid of what might happen while her daughter was in prison.
Sitting next to her son when the court deliberated, Mrs. K. continuously wiped away her tears. At this time, Cuong also burst into tears and apologized to his mother. "I'm afraid of dying in prison, Mom," Cuong held his mother's wrinkled hand and said in a choked voice. Then Cuong looked at his 16-year-old son and said: "It's all thanks to you. Try to live a good life." After saying that, the female defendant turned to her younger sister and asked her to take care of her children and grandchildren.
Although Dang Thi Cuong complained of her hardships and asked the court to consider reducing her sentence, considering that she was the ringleader in this case, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison. That was also the sentence for Lo Van Thon and Ly Ba Po. In particular, defendant Vi Dinh Phan was sentenced to 18 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.
When Dang Thi Cuong was escorted to the car to return to the prison, Mrs. K. sat quietly and motionless, watching her son disappear behind the door. It seemed that she was too tired and had no more tears to cry for her son. She also did not know if she would still be alive on the day her son returned.
