Male student kills friend and puts him in a styrofoam box because of a 900,000 VND phone

Murdering his friend in an apartment building in Go Vap district (HCMC) to take her phone and pawn it for 900,000 VND, Binh committed the crime when he was under 16 years old so he may only have to receive 12 years in prison.

Ho Chi Minh City police have just completed the investigation and requested the same-level People's Procuracy to prosecute Nguyen Pham Quoc Binh (16 years old) for murder and robbery. The teenager was accused of murdering his classmate, stealing her phone, and then putting her body in a styrofoam box to dispose of it, nearly half a year ago.

The camera recorded Binh moving the styrofoam box. Photo cut from clip.

According to the investigation, Binh and Thu (15 years old) were in the same 9th grade class at a school in Go Vap district. On the evening of January 12, the male student came to Thu's house to take her to extra classes, then invited her to the rooftop of the Ha Do apartment building on Nguyen Van Cong street to play. The two went up the stairs, which was very dark and deserted.

Approaching the rooftop, seeing Thu holding a phone, Binh had the intention of taking it and snatched it. The female student thought her friend was joking so she snatched it back, texting as she walked. From behind, Binh took a nearby fire exit prop (made of stone), hit the female student repeatedly on the head, causing her death, then took her phone and a few hundred thousand.

After receiving 900,000 VND from the phone, Binh was afraid that the incident would be discovered, so he returned to the scene to clean up the blood stains, but still left the victim's body on the stairs.

That night, when Thu did not return from school, her family went to the police station to report. Binh was called in for questioning, but he said, "I took my friend home, I don't know where he went after that." After being allowed to go home, he went to buy 2 styrofoam boxes and tape to dispose of the victim's body. After putting his classmate's body in the box, sealing it, he called a tricycle to pick it up.

Discovering Binh dragging a suspicious styrofoam box, the apartment security guard stopped him to check. "I'm moving things for my aunt to burn," the male student explained, then took out his phone and pretended to call someone to escape.

Checking the styrofoam box, the security guard discovered the murder and reported the incident to the police. The apartment building's camera recorded Binh wearing a uniform with the school logo, and the police arrested the male student a few hours later.

The investigation agency determined that there was sufficient evidence to show that Binh had committed two particularly serious crimes. According to the 2015 Penal Code, at the time of the crime, Binh was under 16 years old, so if convicted, he would face a maximum of 12 years in prison.

The victim's family requested 580 million VND in compensation, but Binh's parents were only able to support 20 million VND.

According to VNE