The man and his downward spiral to... a life sentence.
(Baonghean.vn) - Following a series of mistakes, Nguyen Dinh Sy spiraled down the path of crime and imprisonment. Even after becoming a father, he still hadn't turned over a new leaf, not only burying himself behind bars but also leaving behind pain and a heavy burden for his family.
In prison, out of prison.
For many people, youth is about dreams, aspirations, and cherished memories. But for Nguyen Dinh Sy (born in 1988), residing in Thanh Thuy commune, Thanh Chuong district, youth revolved solely around going in and out of prison.
Sy was the seventh child in a family of nine siblings. His family wasn't well-off, but the young man wasn't interested in working. Instead, Sy indulged in a life of extravagance and quickly developed a habit of petty theft. This led to Nguyen Dinh Sy receiving a nine-month prison sentence for theft in 2010.
After his early misstep, Sy did not mend his ways but continued to resist law enforcement. As a result, Nguyen Dinh Sy received a 14-month prison sentence for this crime. While serving his sentence, his wife gave birth to their second child. Instead of focusing on his family and providing for his wife and children, Sy became involved with drugs. The consequence of this lawbreaking behavior was a 7-year prison sentence for illegal drug trafficking in 2015.
Sỹ's repeated imprisonments severely impacted his family life, especially that of his young children. His young wife had to shoulder the burden of supporting the family and caring for the children. After serving his prison sentence, Sỹ returned to his hometown. His relatives hoped that he would repent, rebuild his life, and make amends for the hardships his children had endured. However, just six months after his release, he repeated his past mistakes by transporting over 1.1 kg of drugs.
According to the case file, on July 26, 2022, Sy was approached by a man named Tran Van Tai (residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district) who offered him a job to retrieve drugs from the Khe Da Cuc area in Thanh Thuy commune, promising him a payment of 5 to 7 million VND. Sy agreed to the offer.
Following Tài's instructions, early the next morning Sỹ went to the stream area to wait for the "goods." After waiting for many hours, that afternoon, Sỹ received the drugs from a man. He took the drugs home and hid them. The next day, Sỹ put the bag containing the drugs in the trunk of his motorbike and went to deliver them to Tài. On the way, when he saw the police signaling him to stop, Sỹ quickly abandoned his motorbike and fled. The police pursued and apprehended Sỹ, and upon searching the motorbike's trunk, they found more than 1.1 kg of drugs.
Based on Nguyen Dinh Sy's testimony, the police issued an emergency detention order against Tran Van Tai. At the police station, Tai confessed to asking Sy to buy a golden turtle from a Laotian man, but Sy was unsuccessful. Tai denied hiring Sy to receive drugs. Aside from Sy's testimony, there was no other evidence, so the authorities had no basis to prosecute Tai.
Late repentance
On the day of the trial of defendant Nguyen Dinh Sy for the crime of illegally transporting narcotics, the image of Mrs. Nguyen Thi L. (Sy's mother) struggling to get to the courtroom moved many people to tears. Her advanced age and frail health made walking difficult, so a family member was always by her side. In fact, the courtroom was nothing new to her, as this was the fourth time the mother had accompanied her son to court.
Before the witness stand, the defendant did not admit to transporting drugs. He claimed he only helped a man named Tài "pick up the goods" and did not know what was inside. Sỹ admitted that he only learned it was drugs when he was arrested. However, when questioned by the panel of judges about why he did not know the package contained drugs but abandoned his vehicle and fled when confronted by the police, the defendant remained silent.
Initially, upon his arrest, Sy admitted to transporting drugs for hire, but later changed his testimony at the trial. Although Sy did not admit to transporting drugs at the trial, in his final statement he asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances. He presented his family situation, including his ailing mother, young children, and wife with mental illness, to request leniency. Only when mentioning his wife, children, and relatives did his eyes well up with tears. Several times, Sy raised his handcuffed hand to wipe his face, his gaze directed towards his family members sitting nearby.
Silently watching her son's trial, Mrs. L. sighed repeatedly. How could she not be sad when, for so many years, she had always encouraged her son to turn his life around? Yet, despite her late-night sighs and the tears that streamed down her wrinkled face, Sy kept making the same mistakes again and again.
Seeing his mother, Sy mumbled an apology. Then, seeing his mother sad, the "prodigal son" also burst into tears, though those belated tears could not soothe the pain and shame of his unfortunate mother. At the fourth meeting with her son at the trial, Mrs. L. offered words of encouragement. The mother confided that, in her old age, with her hair streaked with gray, she thought she would find peace, but instead, she was constantly tormented and distressed. Because of her "unruly" son, she stayed confined to her house, reluctant to interact with the neighbors. Many nights she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, staying awake until dawn.
The defendant's wife sat listlessly in the courtroom hallway after her reproaches to her husband. Some relatives sympathized with her situation, as since getting married, she had lived with the sadness of her husband's repeated imprisonments, and her illness had also caused her to have unstable mental states at times.
After deliberation, the panel of judges concluded that, although the defendant did not admit to the crime, based on the collected investigative documents, the defendant's initial statements, the scene examination report, etc., the prosecution of the defendant for the crime of illegally transporting narcotics was correct. In this case, the defendant had an aggravating circumstance of recidivism. Therefore, the first-instance court sentenced Nguyen Dinh Sy to life imprisonment for the crime of illegally transporting narcotics.
The trial of her son ended, and the mother left the courtroom with difficulty. With a life sentence, would she still have the chance to welcome her wayward son back as she longed for? If only Nguyen Dinh Sy had repented and turned his life around before it was too late, things would have been different!
