'Old horse familiar with old road' widow receives heavy sentence for drug use

On October 19, 2020, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Vi Thi Ha (born 1979), residing in Muong Noc commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of"Illegal drug trafficking".

In 2008, Vi Thi Ha was sentenced to 11 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking. Because Ha was pregnant at the time, the sentence was suspended. During this time, Ha continued to reoffend and was sentenced to 6 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking and harboring illegal drug use. The total sentence of the two sentences that Ha must serve is 17 years in prison.

Defendant Vi Thi Ha. Photo: Tran Vu

On February 9, 2020, Ha completed his sentence and reintegrated into society. However, just a few months later, Ha continued torelapsedrug-related crimes

According to investigation documents, on May 23, 2020, a man in Hung Nguyen district called Ha to order 15 packages of pink phien, the price will be calculated later.

Early in the morning of May 26, Ha rented a car to go to Nam Giai commune, Que Phong district to buy drugs from a stranger. This person agreed to sell Ha 15 packages of pink phien on credit for 10 million VND.

Ha then called the buyer to arrange a time and place for delivery. At noon the same day, Ha took the drugs to a motel in Tien Phong commune and was arrested by the police. The evidence confiscated was 285.5 grams of drugs.

On the day of her trial, Ha cried and told of her difficult circumstances, her husband's death, and her two young children, asking for a reduced sentence.

The panel of judges determined that the defendant's recidivism was an aggravating circumstance. The defendant had been brought to trial twice, clearly understood the provisions of the law, but still reoffended, demonstrating contempt for the law.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Vi Thi Ha to 20 years in prison for illegal drug trafficking.