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 resulted in two casualties in Hamlet 3, Hoa Son Commune (Anh Son District). Upon receiving the report, detectives and the commune police 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, however, 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. Frustrated, 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 a sensitive photo of his wife on Facebook with an unclear face (the photo was posted by a Facebook virus), suspecting that it was his wife, Tuan took a bus from Laos. Tuan drove his motorbike straight into Ms. Van's house. The sound of the motorbike was loud, so Ms. Van said: "There is a small child sleeping at home, the loud sound 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 took his motorbike out of Ms. Van's house.

Suspecting that Kieu was going to Laos to do 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 them, so Tuan left. When he got home, Tuan took the knife and put it in his belt and continued to ride his motorbike to Ms. Van's house to "ask for the truth".

Tuan said: "Kieu is a prostitute in Laos, I'll show her to you." At that time, Ms. Van was holding a baby and said she didn't 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 make false accusations.”

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 Van and Linh to the emergency room, but due to the severity of her injuries, 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 blazing hot weather, the family of the victim Dang Thi Van arrived at the court early. Father and son Thai Van Minh (Van's husband) wore cotton shirts and brought portraits of his wife and mother to "demand revenge".

Relatives of the victim arrived very early to attend the trial of Phan Van Tuan. 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 to her cheek.

“I feel so sorry for her, she lost her mother when she was only 6 months old. Now the cut has become a keloid scar, she has to carry that scar on her face for the rest of her life. Since her mother died, her father has struggled with the two children, and the girl has come to live with me…”, the girl’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 was embarrassed and said: "I was so angry because I asked for my wife's 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 a 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 my wife had an illicit relationship with someone else when I saw her adding friends and posting offensive pictures on Facebook. The defendant was angry and asked for her 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 is left alive, he will continue to cause trouble. We do not need anything now, just a life for a life,” said Mr. Minh.

When he was given the last word, 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 little child was brought by his family, 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, sobbing 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 the 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 supporting Minh's three children with 600,000 VND/month each until they reach adulthood.

Outside the hot sunny hallway, Tuan's skinny and 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 couldn't. "I just want to see him once. I'm old. Oh my gosh, just because of a photo on Facebook led to this situation" - 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 and buried his face in his rough, black hands, sobbing 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, revised the first instance judgment, and sentenced Tuan to death for murder.