debt of gratitude

(Baonghean) -After drinking at a neighbor's wedding party, Le Van Luu felt sad thinking about his father-in-law's forbidden marriage, so he brought a knife to take revenge.

Le Van Luu, born in 1983, came from a family with special circumstances in Dien Thap commune, Dien Chau district. His parents divorced when he was young, his father remarried, and Luu lived with his mother for a few years. His mother's health was getting worse, she was deaf and unemployed, making it difficult for her to raise her children. Luu returned to live with his grandfather. His back was hunched and his eyes were tired, but the 85-year-old man still tried to feed his grandchildren vegetables and porridge.

At the age of 20, Luu followed his relatives in the commune to Laos to do business. Coming from a poor background, Luu worked hard to earn money and sent money back to support his mother and grandfather. In 2010, while on a business trip to Laos, Luu met and became acquainted with Nguyen Van Linh, son of Mr. Nguyen Van Oanh in Hamlet 8, Tien Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District. Seeing that his son had a new close friend who knew how to work hard, Mr. Oanh was very happy and invited Luu to visit his house many times.

Mr. Oanh has a daughter named Quynh (born in 1995), studying in high school, pretty and lovely. Right from the first time he met Quynh, the poor guy had a special feeling for her. After phone calls and text messages, the two of them devoted all their feelings to each other without realizing it. The beautiful love of the two was respected and supported by Mr. Oanh's family because they saw that Luu was a gentle person. Although his daughter was not yet of legal age to get married, but before the intense love of the young couple, Mr. Oanh still agreed to let the two get married.

The day Luu's relatives brought gifts to his girlfriend's house to ask for her hand in marriage, Luu's grandfather, Le Van Hai, cried, secretly happy for his family's great fortune, meeting a powerful and dignified in-law family. The couple's wedding was scheduled for early March 2013.

After the engagement ceremony, Mr. Oanh's family loved Luu very much and treated him like a son. From then on, Luu no longer worked hard as before but started to play around, hang around, and become an alcoholic. One time, Luu got drunk, went to his future wife's house, and broke things. Another time, Luu borrowed Quynh's brother's car to pawn... Witnessing his future son-in-law's debauchery, Mr. Oanh shook his head in dismay. To protect his daughter's happiness, Mr. Oanh decided to cancel the engagement indefinitely.

Mr. Oanh's decision was like a thunderbolt, making Luu numb and not understanding why, so he indulged in drinking more to forget the pain of being betrayed. However, the more he drank, the more he missed his lover, and always dreamed of the day when the couple would be happy together. On March 2, 2013, Luu was invited to attend a neighbor's family's wedding. After getting a little tipsy, Luu looked up at the wedding photo of the bride and groom, seeing the young couple happily walking hand in hand into the wedding hall, Luu suddenly thought of the scene of his own wedding being canceled, combined with a few words from the people present at the wedding, making Luu even more sad.

The plan to take revenge on Mr. Oanh immediately flared up. Leaving the wedding, Luu took a knife and rode his motorbike straight to Yen Thanh district with the intention of finding Mr. Oanh to find out why he was rejected. Arriving at Mr. Oanh's house when it was dark, he sneaked into the house and went to the bedroom, taking revenge on his future father-in-law with a fatal stab. After killing him, he went into hiding but knowing he could not escape, he later went to the police to surrender.

Le Van Luu in court.

In mid-July 2013, the trial of Le Van Luu was opened. Arriving at the court early in the morning, Mr. Le Van Hai tried to sit close to the front row to see his grandson's face clearly. Since Luu was arrested, Mr. Hai's health had seriously declined, wandering in and out all day like a lost soul. Many times looking straight into the eyes of his grandson who was sitting huddled on the chair waiting for questioning, Mr. Hai's tears flowed down. Before the case was brought to trial, Mr. Hai sold a herd of pigs and used a cane to borrow from the whole village for 20 million VND to compensate the victim's family, hoping they would speak up for his grandson in court. On the victim's family's side, Mr. Oanh's daughter was not present at the trial, and his wife, Ms. Phuong, also cried when she heard the defendant talk about that terrifying night.

During the trial, Le Van Luu kept his head down, occasionally looking down to seek sympathetic glances from his relatives. Luu said that it was because he loved too much and was too emotional when looking at the wedding photos of his neighbor that he committed the murder. “The defendant is guilty towards his grandfather, his old mother, and his lover’s family. This debt of gratitude, even if he dies, he will never be able to repay. I only hope that the court will reduce his sentence so that he can soon return to his former life and repay the kindness of the living,” Luu’s final words silenced the court.

The 16-year prison sentence and 93 million VND in compensation that Luu was sentenced to was appropriate, but many people present at the trial sighed with regret for the defendant's life. Because if Luu had continued to work hard and not fallen into the path of drinking and debauchery, Luu would not have been banned by Mr. Oanh and perhaps now Luu would have had a happy life with his young wife. The expensive lesson that Luu must receive today is the consequence of the alarmingly reckless and impulsive lifestyle of many young people today.

Article and photos: Nguyen Khoa