Mother cries, begs for reduced sentence for 3 young men who killed her son

That is Mrs. Lo Thi Mien (residing in Dinh Huong village, Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district), mother of the victim Lo Van Manh. Almost one year after her son's death anniversary, Mrs. Mien and her eldest son brought rice and rice balls to Vinh city to attend the trial of those who caused her son's death.

The trial on April 19th did not start until 9am, and Mrs. Mien and her children sat there, waiting absent-mindedly. The three defendants charged with “murder” were also sitting not far away. But what was rare was that the entire courtroom was completely free of hate or curses.

Mrs. Mien looked at the 3 defendants and cried, her eyes were painful and miserable to the core. She must be missing her son, her son who had just graduated from university was the same age as the 3 defendants, and yet...

She still remembers that on the evening of February 1, 2017, after dinner, Manh told his mother to go to the next village to play with his friends. Thinking that her son had gone to college for a long time and was now back in the countryside to visit his friends, Mrs. Mien did not think much of it, but for some reason, when her son left the gate, she felt uneasy. It was not until she stood before the court that she tearfully said that it was a mother's intuition.

Ms. Mien could not control her emotions many times and cried in court. Photo: Phuong Thao

Hearing the representative of the Procuracy read the indictment, describing in detail the defendants' actions in beating her child, Mrs. Mien's heart was broken, she continuously collapsed on the table and sobbed. That day, while going out, Manh and his friend met a group of people, including Kha Van Huy. Manh's friend had a conflict with Huy, so a fight broke out, Huy immediately called his brother Kha Van Vu and told them about the beating.

Hearing that, Vu and Huy's two other friends, Luong Van Vong and Kha Ngoc Quy, took sticks to fight back.

When he arrived at Khe Bi bridge in Dinh Thang village, Tam Dinh commune, Tuong Duong district, he encountered a group of young men, including Manh. A fight broke out, and Manh was repeatedly hit in the head and shoulders by Kha Ngoc Quy, Luong Van Vong and Kha Van Vu with sticks, causing serious injuries. After 3 months of treatment in the hospital, Manh died on April 30, 2017.

In the end, between Manh and the three perpetrators, the three defendants standing before the court, there was no conflict or any contradiction. Just because of rashness, just because of impulsiveness, just because of the desire to win, one died, one went to jail. The pain will haunt the mother for the rest of her life. She said, her son was in the hospital for 3 months before leaving her, but during those 3 months he was in a coma and didn't say a word, the mother's heart felt like it was being torn apart piece by piece.

The questioning session was interrupted many times because Ms. Mien was too emotional. When she calmed down, she still addressed the defendants as "aunt" and "children". She was not angry but spoke gently as if pouring out her heart: "My child is dead and cannot return, but you children who have gone to prison can still return. I hope you will reform well, and when you are released from prison, try to make a living and show filial piety to your parents. Don't entice or entice each other to commit illegal acts anymore...", the ethnic minority mother spoke each Kinh word slowly, each sentence and each word as if she was in tears.

The three defendants Luong Van Vong, Kha Ngoc Quy and Kha Van Vu in court. Photo: Phuong Thao

The panel of judges asked Ms. Mien about the amount of compensation she requested. She said that for 3 months of treatment for her child, the whole family had to run around and borrow money, so now she hoped that the 3 families would cover that cost. In her previous petition to the court, Ms. Mien requested 600 million VND in compensation. However, in court, seeing the pained eyes of the 3 defendants' parents, she understood that they, like her, were the ones who had to bear the pain when their children made a mistake.

Hearing the families of the three defendants say that the amount was too large, while their economic situation was not very good, after thinking for a while, Ms. Mien said that they only needed to compensate an additional 300 million VND, so that she could partly pay off the debt for her children's treatment. The three defendants' families agreed to that amount.

Before the panel of judges deliberated, Mrs. Mien tearfully asked for a reduced sentence for the three defendants so that the children could return to their families soon, not forgetting to remind them to try to be good people. The three defendants secretly glanced at Mrs. Mien and then bowed their heads in silence...

The jury sentenced the three defendants, Luong Van Vong to 12 years in prison, Kha Van Vu to 10 years in prison, and Kha Ngoc Quy to 9 years in prison. The trial ended, Mrs. Mien and her eldest son slowly walked home in the sun. Mother and son supported each other, their hearts still heavy...