Mother of 'chicken delivery girl' appears in court
Ms. Tran Thi Hien (44 years old, mother of the victim in the case of the murder of a young chicken delivery girl) and 4 accomplices were tried today for drug trafficking.
The trial opened at the People's Court of Dien Bien province. Ms. Hien, along with Bui Van Cong (44 years old), Vi Van Toan, Vi Thi Thu (both 37 years old, Toan's wife), and Luong Van Hung (39 years old) were prosecuted for the crime ofIllegal drug traffickingAccording to Clause 4, Article 194 of the 1999 Penal Code. Toan was also tried for the crime ofConcealing illegal use of drugs,According to Article 256 of the 2015 Penal Code. The penalty for the prosecution of the 5 defendants is up to 20 years, life imprisonment or death penalty.
The first-instance trial is scheduled to last one day. Defendant Hien invited two defense lawyers. The remaining four defendants all have lawyers to protect their legal rights and interests, appointed by the People's Court of Dien Bien province.
Chief Justice of Dien Bien Provincial People's Court Pham Van Nam said that the case file showed that Ms. Hien did not admit to drug trafficking and claimed that she did not know the four accomplices. Realizing that this was a complicated case, the court leaders assigned an experienced judge to preside over the trial.
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Ms. Tran Thi Hien (middle) at the investigation agency. Photo:Hai Yen |
According to the indictment, at the end of May 2017, Ms. Hien went to Cong's house to order 4 heroin cakes at the price of 160 million VND per cake. Cong agreed and went to Thu's house in Dien Bien district to order at the price of 150 million VND per cake.
Thu went to the Vietnam-Laos border to buy 2 heroin cakes from a stranger for 160 million VND each. At the end of May 2017, Cong took the drugs from Thu's house to deliver to Ms. Hien, receiving 290 million VND. Ms. Hien owed him 30 million VND.
In addition, Cong and Thu also bought and sold drugs to local addicts many times.
The indictment determined that in the case, Ms. Hien raised the issue and directly traded 2 heroin cakes with Cong. Toan and Hung were active assistants.
During the investigation, the defendants all admitted to buying and selling heroin. Ms. Hien denied this, but the investigation agency still had enough evidence to determine that she bought and sold 2 heroin cakes weighing more than 700 grams.
According to Dien Bien Police, Ms. Hien's debt to Cong of 30 million and to Toan of 300 million in another drug deal was the reason why her daughter was kidnapped and murdered in early February. In this case, Toan, Cong, and Hung were the main perpetrators, assisted by 6 accomplices./.
