Man sentenced to death for... photo posted on Facebook

From the photo posted on Facebook

On January 3, 2015, the Anh Son District Police Investigation Agency received a report of a case that left two people injured and dead in Hamlet 3, Hoa Son Commune (Anh Son District). Upon receiving the report, detectives and the commune police force arrived at the scene. The victims were identified as mother and daughter Dang Thi Van (born in 1980, residing in Hamlet 3, Hoa Son Commune, Anh Son District).

Immediately after the incident, the victim Dang Thi Van was given emergency aid by local people, but due to the severity of her injuries, she died on the way to the hospital. Her niece Thai Thi Thuy Linh (6 months old), Van's daughter, suffered a slash from her forehead down to her cheekbone, deep to the bone, and was transferred to Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital for surgery.

The incident happened so suddenly that the victim’s family as well as the people of Hoa Son commune were shocked and worried. However, what made people more confused was that the perpetrator was none other than the victim’s brother-in-law, who used to live in the same family.

Phan Van Tuan was sentenced to life in prison at the first instance trial. Photo: HSVA

Immediately, Phan Van Tuan (born in 1977, residing in Hoa Son commune, Anh Son, Nghe An) was summoned to the District Police Investigation Agency. At first, Tuan stubbornly claimed that the victim had attacked him first, which caused the incident. Over time, using their professional methods, the investigators made Phan Van Tuan bow his head, admit his guilt, and recount the process of committing the crime.

It is known that Phan Van Tuan married Ms. Dang Thi Kieu (also residing in Hoa Son commune, Anh Son district), Ms. Van's younger sister. After a period of living together, due to differences in opinions, the couple often had conflicts.

Around June 2014, due to conflicts in life, Phan Van Tuan beat and kicked his wife out of the house. Disappointed, Tuan's wife went to the South to do business and Tuan also went to Laos to work as a construction worker.

At the end of 2014, seeing his wife's sensitive Facebook photo with an unclear face (the photo was posted by a Facebook virus), suspecting that it was his wife, Tuan took a taxi from Laos. Tuan drove his motorbike straight into Van's house. The motorbike made a loud noise, so Van said: "There's a small child sleeping at home, the loud noise of the motorbike startled her" and chased Tuan out of the house. Tuan said: "I didn't know, please forgive me, I'm sorry" and drove his motorbike out of Van's house.

Suspecting that Kieu was going to Laos for business, Tuan asked for Kieu's phone number to call his wife to clarify the story, but Van replied that she did not know Kieu's phone number.

Phan Van Tuan and Ms. Van continued to argue, Tuan used his hand to strangle the other. At this time, Mr. Nguyen Van Quang, a neighbor, heard the loud noise and immediately came over to stop it, so Tuan left. When he got home, Tuan took the knife and put it in his belt and continued riding his motorbike to Ms. Van's house to "ask for the truth".

Tuan said: "Kieu is a prostitute in Laos, I will show her to you". At that time, Ms. Van was holding a baby and said she did not know where her sister was.

Tuan said: “Is Kieu in Vietnam or Laos? Why did he go on Facebook and make friends with a Laotian who had a picture of them having sex on the stairs? If he is in Laos, tell him to come back and don’t affect everyone.” Ms. Van refused to look at the picture and said: “Don’t slander.”

Defendant Phan Van Tuan at the first instance trial. Photo: HSVA

In a fit of rage, unable to control himself, Tuan chased and repeatedly slashed Van with a knife. The victim fell to the ground. At this time, neighbors rushed in to stop him, but he struggled and continued to slash his wife many times. Although Linh was protected by her mother, Tuan still slashed Linh from her forehead to her cheek.

After committing the crime, Tuan left. People quickly took Ms. Van and Linh to the emergency room, but due to the severity of her injuries, Ms. Van died on the way to the emergency room. The conclusion of the Criminal Techniques Department of Nghe An Province Police showed that the victim Dang Thi Van died of shock, acute blood loss due to multiple injuries, skull fractures and brain tissue rupture. Linh was transferred to the provincial hospital for emergency treatment and was determined to have suffered 15% health damage.

Late Tears

On May 29, 2015, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened the first instance trial of defendant Phan Van Tuan for the crime ofKilling. Despite the scorching heat, the family of the victim Dang Thi Van arrived at the court early. Mr. Thai Van Minh (Ms. Van's husband) and his son wore cotton shirts, carrying the portraits of his wife and mother to "demand revenge".

Relatives of the victim arrived very early to attend Phan Van Tuan's trial. Photo: HSVA

Little Thai Thi Thuy Linh was too young to understand her own pain. She lay asleep on her relative's shoulder, her face still in shock as her uncle's slash wound extended from her forehead down her cheek.

“I feel so sorry for her, she lost her mother when she was only 6 months old. Now the cut has turned into a keloid scar, she will have to carry that scar on her face for the rest of her life. Since her mother died, her father has struggled to take care of the two children, and the girl came to live with me…”, the child’s aunt sighed.

The sweltering heat of nearly 40 degrees Celsius made the auditorium more stuffy and seemed to get hotter when the judge questioned the defendant: "Why did you slash Ms. Van?". Tuan awkwardly said: "I was so angry because I asked my wife's phone number many times but Ms. Van did not give it to me." The judge continued: "Even if they knew, it was their right not to say anything. I lived with Ms. Kieu without a marriage certificate. I abused my wife like it was my daily meal. Whose fault was it that my wife left home? I should know how I lived to make my wife leave. Did I drink, beat, or abuse my wife?". Tuan bowed his head in silence.

After a while, Tuan himself said in court: "Because his wife had an illicit relationship with someone else when he saw his wife adding friends and posting offensive pictures on Facebook. The defendant was angry and asked for his wife's phone number to tell her to delete those pictures. But...".

Hearing this confession, the people attending the trial seemed very surprised. The judge questioned: "Just because of a photo on Facebook that went viral, the defendant killed his sister-in-law and injured his nephew. Was it worth it?". "No. The defendant was wrong" - Tuan bowed his head in regret.

At the trial, Tuan confessed his crime. The representative of Nghe An Provincial People's Procuracy requestedlife sentencefor murder, 2-3 years in prison for intentional injury.

Mr. Thai Van Minh brought his wife's portrait to court to "demand revenge for her life". Photo: HSVA

Mr. Thai Van Minh, the legal representative of the victim, asked the jury to sentence Tuan to death. “My wife died tragically, my child is still too young and Tuan did not spare her. If Tuan were to live, he would continue to cause trouble. We do not need anything now, just a life for a life,” said Mr. Minh.

When he was given his final say, Tuan asked the jury to turn back and look at Minh’s family. He mumbled an apology, but the victim’s family did not accept it. Tuan hoped the jury would consider letting him live so he could have a chance to return to raise his child and make up for his mistakes with Van’s family.

The jury deliberated, Tuan was brought back to the defendant's row. His family brought his little child to him, about 2 meters away. He turned his head and called out, "My child, it's dad, it's dad. Forgive me..." Seeing his little child brought by his family, Tuan called out to his child, then buried his face in his rough, black hands, and sobbed in front of the court.

The panel of judges determined that Tuan’s actions were extremely serious, depriving another person of his life, injuring a child who was unable to defend himself, and disrupting social order and security, and that the defendant should be given a severe sentence. However, during the investigation and trial, Tuan confessed honestly and showed remorse, and his family partially compensated the victim for the damage.

After considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced Phan Van Tuan to life in prison for murder and three years in prison for intentional infliction of injury. Combining both sentences, Tuan must serve a life sentence. In addition, Tuan must compensate Minh's family for more than 120 million VND and is responsible for providing 600,000 VND/month for Minh's three children until they reach adulthood.

Outside in the hot sunny hallway, Tuan’s skinny, dark aunt stood crying as she watched Tuan put his hands in handcuffs. She held a package of sticky rice and a box of sausages and tried to give them to Tuan, but she couldn’t. “I just want to see it once. I’m old. Oh my gosh, just because of a photo on Facebook, it led to this,” she lamented in tears. Tuan also turned his head to look at his aunt, who was standing like a statue in the sun, and suddenly burst into tears. Because of his lack of understanding, Tuan had pushed the matter too far.

Seeing the little child brought by his family, Tuan called out to his child, then buried his face in his rough, black hands, and sobbed in front of the court. Photo: HSVA

However, realizing that the sentence for Tuan was light and not commensurate with the crime he committed, the victim's family filed an appeal to the High People's Court.

On January 11, 2016, at the headquarters of the People's Court of Nghe An province, the High People's Court in Hanoi opened an appeal hearing and sentenced defendant Phan Van Tuan. At the appeal hearing, it was found that Tuan's criminal behavior was particularly dangerous, of a hooligan nature and had the intention to commit the crime to the end, so there was no longer any reform value. Therefore, the appellate panel accepted the victim's appeal, amended the first instance judgment, and sentenced Tuan to death for murder.