Mother of female chicken delivery student fainted, court had to postpone appeal hearing
During the interrogation, the mother of the chicken delivery girl fainted and was given a medical examination. Due to the unsatisfactory conditions, the presiding judge finally announced a postponement of the trial and has not yet set a date for its resumption.
On the morning of March 19, the High People's Court in Hanoi reopened the appeal hearing of defendant Tran Thi Hien (49 years old, mother of a female student delivering chicken in Dien Bien) for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.
The trial was held to consider Ms. Hien’s appeal for innocence. At the trial, defendant Tran Thi Hien continued to plead innocence, requesting a postponement of the trial due to the absence of all her defense lawyers and her poor health.
Ms. Hien’s lawyers had previously filed requests for leave of absence and requested a postponement of the trial. After deliberation, the panel of judges did not agree with the reasons for the request to postpone the trial.
During the interrogation, the mother of the chicken delivery girl fainted and was given a medical examination. Due to the unsatisfactory conditions, the presiding judge finally announced a postponement of the trial and has not yet set a date for its resumption.
Previously, the appeal hearing had been postponed several times for various reasons. In mid-July 2021, the High People's Court in Hanoi decided to postpone the appeal hearing of defendant Tran Thi Hien (mother of the chicken delivery girl in Dien Bien) to clarify some issues related to the case.
In May 2022, the Hanoi High Court brought the defendant to trial under the appeal procedure. The appellate panel decided to partially annul the first instance judgment because it believed that there were some contradictory details in the case that could not be clarified at the trial.
According to the first instance verdict, in 2017, Vi Thi Thu went to the border area to buy 2 heroin cakes for 90 million VND/cake and sold them to Bui Van Cong for 150 million VND/cake.
Cong and Luong Van Hung sold drugs to Tran Thi Hien for 160 million VND/cake. In addition, the defendants also organized drug use at Vi Van Toan's house.
At the first instance trial, the mother of the chicken delivery girl cried out in injustice, claiming that the defendants Cong and Toan had given false testimony after kidnapping and killing the student Cao My Duyen. And the defendants could not be convicted solely based on the testimony of Toan's group.
Meanwhile, the defendants Cong, Toan and Hung admitted their crimes and did not file an appeal.
The first instance verdict sentenced defendant Tran Thi Hien to 20 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking. Vi Thi Thu and her husband Vi Van Toan (born 1982, the mastermind in the case of the female student delivering chicken in Dien Bien) received life sentences.
Bui Van Cong and Luong Van Hung received 20 years in prison and life sentences, respectively.
At the previous appeal hearing, defendant Hien could not hold back his tears, maintained his previous statements, and claimed that he was wronged.
Defending the mother of the chicken delivery girl, lawyer Giang Hong Thanh once requested the appellate court to annul the first instance judgment and reinvestigate to clarify further the evidence proving that Ms. Tran Thi Hien bought drugs from Bui Van Cong.
According to the lawyer, this case can be considered a "strange case" because Ms. Hien was accused of being involved in the kidnapping, rape, and murder of her daughter Cao My Duyen.
The incriminating documents were provided by the two rapists and murderers of her daughter and most of them did not meet the legal and objective attributes of evidence.
Because they are not objective, the statements of these subjects have many illogical and contradictory points.
