People die, people go to jail just because of a saying

Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance trial of defendant Vu Van Thiet (born 1999), residing in Quynh Xuan ward, Hoang Mai town, for the crime of "Murder".

Three defendants, including Le Tien Tai (born in 1998), residing in Quynh Xuan ward, Hoang Mai town, Dau Danh Trieu (born in 1998), residing in Mai Hung ward, Hoang Mai town and Tran Doan Hai (born in 1990), residing in Quynh Tan commune, Quynh Luu district, were prosecuted for the crime of"Disturbing public order".

Defendant Vu Van Thiet was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

At noon on September 8, 2022, Thiet and a group of friends ate at a restaurant in Quynh Tan commune. During the meal, one of the group members told a story about a conflict he had with Mr. Ho Sy N. (born in 1990), residing in Quynh Tan commune.

Although they did not know each other, Thiet called N. on Facebook to invite him to drink beer. At first, N. refused, but after seeing Thiet turn the camera towards the person he had a conflict with, he asked, "Where are you? Do you know who I am?". Thiet replied, "Mr. N. Nhan." Nam said, "You stay there, I'll be there" and hung up.

At this time, Thiet went to the back of the kitchen area and took a knife and put it in his pocket. A moment later, Mr. N. went with his friend named Hai to the restaurant to talk to Thiet's group.

When arriving at the shop, N. asked, "Who called me N. Nhan?" Thiet said, "I" and got a chair for N. to sit, but N. hit him on the head and mouth.

At this time, Thiet pulled out a knife and slashed at N. but missed. N. walked over and hugged Thiet, but the young man resisted and stabbed N. in the stomach.

The victim was rushed to the hospital but died at 6 p.m. the same day. The cause of death was acute circulatory failure due to a penetrating abdominal wound that severed the liver.

Defendants at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

During the fight, seeing N. and Thiet fighting, Hai used bottles, beer, and knives; Trieu used plastic cups, brooms, and wooden sticks; and Tai used rocks to join in the fight. During the fight, the two groups knocked over tables, chairs, cups, bowls, and plates from the restaurant. After that, they moved out onto the street and continued to chase each other, using weapons to fight, causing disorder in the area.

At the trial, the defendants admitted their crimes. The victim's representative asked for a reduced sentence for the defendants.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendants had mitigating circumstances such as honest confession, repentance, and having relatives who contributed to the revolution. In addition, defendant Thiet had influenced the family to pay civil compensation to the victim's representative, and the cause of the defendant's criminal behavior was partly the victim's fault.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Vu Van Thiet to 15 years in prison for murder.

Sentenced defendant Le Tien Tai to 4 years in prison for disturbing public order. For the same crime, Tran Doan Hai and Dau Danh Trieu each received a 3-year suspended sentence, with a 5-year probation period.