Nghe An: Why can't two murder suspects be prosecuted after they surrendered?

After nearly a month of wandering in a foreign land, taking care of dozens of procedures to be able to bring his youngest son's ashes back home for burial - Mr. Nguyen Phu Manh did not think the day when the two men who murdered his son would have to pay for their crimes would take so long.

Over the past 5 years, Mr. Manh and his wife cannot even remember how many petitions they have sent and knocked on the doors of countless government agencies to demand justice. But the murder case in which their son was the victim has not yet had an “end”. Even though both suspects have turned themselves in and admitted to all their actions.

That is why, the small house in a narrow alley in Ban hamlet (Nghi Thiet commune, Nghi Loc) of Mr. Manh and his wife has not had a single laugh for years. The altar of their short-lived son is always filled with incense smoke. “Why is human life so cheap? My son is also a human being! Why do we keep begging but no one cares or cares?...”, the 60-year-old man said, the corners of his eyes red.

Mr. Manh cannot remember how many petitions he has sent in the hope that the case in which his son is the victim will be tried soon. Photo: Tien Hung

Mr. Manh said that in early 2013, his son, Nguyen Phu Minh (born in 1990), asked his parents to mortgage his land title to borrow 10 million VND to go to a northern province to study at a vocational school. “But unexpectedly, Minh was tricked, and after paying the money, he was not allowed to study. Perhaps because he did not know how to talk to his parents, Minh quietly followed his friend to China to work for hire to redeem the land title,” Mr. Manh said.

One day in early August 2013, Mr. Manh and his wife were shocked to hear that Minh had been murdered. The body was almost decomposed but still had a series of stab wounds when it was discovered in a remote forest in Guangdong province (China).

Ms. Hoang Thi Hau, mother of victim Minh. Photo: Tien Hung

Immediately after finding the body, Ms. Vo Thi L. (25 years old, Cua Lo town), confirmed that Nguyen Van Cuong (27 years old, Nghi Thuy ward, Cua Lo) and Ho Cong Tu (23 years old, Dien Thanh commune, Dien Chau) were suspects in the case.

Ms. L., Minh, and the two suspects lived together in a boarding house in Guangdong. “We all lived and worked together in China. On the evening of August 1, 2013, Minh said he was going out after receiving a phone call. However, that was the last time I saw him. Late that night, Cuong and Tu returned to the boarding house, covered in blood,” Ms. L. said.

In her complaint to Nghe An Police, Ms. Vo Thi L. said that Minh and Cuong had a conflict. In a text message Cuong sent her, the young man said, “Minh must be dealt with.” After being questioned by people in the boarding house, Cuong and Tu then fled back to Vietnam.

On August 9, 2013, Nguyen Van Cuong turned himself in to the Cua Lo Town Police Station. Cuong said he had a conflict with Minh because they both had feelings for the same girl. On August 1, 2013, Cuong asked Tu to buy a knife, then lured Minh to a remote forest and killed him.

A day later, Ho Cong Tu also turned himself in to Nghe An police, admitting that he and Cuong had stabbed Minh to death. However, since then, the two murder suspects have yet to pay the price for their actions.

Mrs. Hau's house has been devoid of laughter for many years. Photo: Tien Hung

The victim’s mother, Hoang Thi Hau, said that every time she looked at her son’s portrait on the altar, her heart ached. “Is it enough to kill a person and then pay more than 30 million VND? We have sent a series of petitions but each time we received the same answer, which was “wait”. More than 5 years have passed, please tell us what the family must do now for the authorities to try my son’s case…”, Ms. Hau said, two lines of tears rolling down her haggard face.

According to the reporter's investigation, after taking statements from Cuong and Tu, on August 14, 2013, the Nghe An Police investigation agency sent a dispatch to the Vietnam Interpol Office requesting coordination with Chinese authorities and instructing the investigation agency to receive files and documents related to the death of Nguyen Phu Minh.

The Vietnam Interpol Office then instructed Nghe An Police to contact the Vietnamese Consulate General in Guangdong to transfer the documents through diplomatic channels. One day later, Nghe An Police sent a dispatch to the Vietnamese Consulate General in Guangdong requesting the transfer of the documents.

Nearly half a year later, on April 1, 2014, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Guangdong province sent a telegram to the Nghe An Police investigation agency stating that this unit had sent a diplomatic note to the Guangdong Police (China), requesting the transfer of documents related to the murder of Nguyen Phu Minh through foreign channels.

However, Guangdong Police said that due to difficulties in translating documents into Vietnamese, they reported and transferred the files and documents to the Chinese Ministry of Public Security for processing and transfer to the Vietnamese side.

Mrs. Hau said that every time she looked at her son's portrait, her heart ached. Photo: Tien Hung

In May 2014, Nghe An Police continued to send official dispatches to Departments C44 and C45 (now Departments C01 and C02 - Ministry of Public Security), and the Department of International Cooperation and Judicial Assistance (Supreme People's Procuracy), requesting professional guidance to receive documents from China.

After receiving instructions from these units, Nghe An Police immediately translated the initial investigation documents from Vietnamese to Chinese and completed many other necessary procedures. In November 2014, Nghe An Police sent a dispatch to the Department of International Cooperation and Judicial Assistance (Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam) to request the transfer of the case file, but to date, they have not received a response.

Since receiving the case, Nghe An Police have continuously discussed many times with a series of responsible units. However, up to now, the investigation agency has not yet received documents and initial investigation records of the case.

Speaking to Nghe An Newspaper reporters, Colonel Nguyen Huu Cau - Director of Nghe An Provincial Police, said that Tu and Cuong's actions showed signs of committing murder.

However, although both the victim and the suspect are in Nghe An, the incident took place in China. The entire initial file was investigated by the Chinese police, so there is no basis to handle these two people according to the provisions of Vietnamese law. The investigation agency can only carry out procedures to ban them from leaving the country and hand over the management of the two subjects to their families and local authorities.

Meeting Nguyen Van Cuong – one of the two suspects, this person said that for the past years, he has always had to live in guilt and torment. At the time of surrendering, he determined that he would have to spend many years in prison to “pay back” what he had done.

“If I had gone to jail, I would have been almost out by now. Now I just want the court to decide my case and wait for the day I can be released so I can start my life over. Or just end the case so I can do business in peace,” Cuong said.

Meanwhile, another suspect, Ho Cong Tu, was released after surrendering and is now married and has children. Both of them now make a living by fishing.