Some died, some went to jail after a party on the day of great unity

On May 13, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Nguyen Van Long (born 1967), residing in Xuan Lam hamlet, Nghia Hung commune, Nghia Dan district, for the crime of "Murder".

According to the indictment, on the evening of November 18, 2019, after going out drinking on National Unity Day, Long returned home. At around 10 p.m. the same day, Long continued to go to his neighbor's house to ask for a plate of dog meat to continue drinking. After that, Long took the plate of dog meat and a glass of wine into the yard of Nguyen Van Hai's house. At this time, in addition to Hai, Hoang Minh D. (born in 1986) and 2 other people were singing karaoke.

Defendant Nguyen Van Long. Photo: Tran Vu

Seeing that Long was drunk, Mr. D. chased him away. An argument broke out between the two men, Mr. D. slapped Long twice and pushed him, causing him to fall to the ground and get injured.

After being beaten, Long rode his motorbike home and told his wife about the incident, then took a sharp knife from the corner of the yard and walked to Hai's house. There, Long told D. "You're a kid, how dare you hit me." D. ran to Long and continued to fight. Long stabbed D. three times in the stomach, back, and buttocks. D. kicked Long in the stomach and he fell and hit his head on the road.

After being stabbed, Mr. D. called for help from those present and was taken to the emergency room. However, at 4:00 a.m. on November 19, 2019, the victim died. The investigation agency concluded that the cause of Mr. D.'s death was: "Circulatory failure, irreversible respiratory failure due to a wound that penetrated the small intestine, liver, left lung, and severed spleen."

As for Long, after stabbing someone, his wife took him to the hospital to treat his injuries. That same day, the defendant turned himself in to the police and confessed to his crime. After the incident, the defendant’s family representative compensated the victim 114 million VND.

At the trial, the defendant admitted to all the crimes. The defendant stated that he was angry about being slapped in the face by D. and that he had had a glass of wine, so he could not control his actions. In front of the victim's representative, the defendant bowed his head and apologized.

The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant committed a heinous murder and therefore needed to be severely punished. However, mitigating circumstances for the defendant should also be considered, as the victim was also partly at fault.

Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Nguyen Van Long to 17 years in prison for “Murder”. The defendant was ordered to compensate the victim’s family 204 million VND (minus the amount already paid), and to provide monthly child support of 1.2 million VND for the victim’s child until he turns 18.