Wanted fugitive 'celebrated on TV' gets 5 years in prison
After many additional investigations but without grounds to convict Mr. Tan of murder, the court applied a higher penalty for the old crime.
On March 23, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court held a second trial and sentenced Nguyen Minh Tan (60 years old) to 5 years in prison for disturbing public order - much longer than the previous trial.
According to the People's Court, after many times returning the case file for further investigation, the investigation agency had no basis to prosecute Tan for murder. However, the defendant had hooligan behavior, used dangerous weapons to commit the crime... so a severe sentence was needed.
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Mr. Tan's sentence was increased compared to the first instance verdict three years ago. Photo:Hai Duyen. |
Nearly 24 years ago, Mr. Tan worked as a neighborhood security guard in Binh Thanh District. Early in the morning of November 11, 1994, Tan organized a drinking party with Nguyen Dinh Thanh Lam, Do Thien Lan and a group of young people in front of the alley of the neighborhood.
Later, Nguyen Long passed by and got into a fight and was grabbed by the collar by Tan's group and beaten. Long's two older brothers, Nguyen Lan and Nguyen Lieng, who came to the rescue were also stabbed and injured by the group with machetes, knives and iron bars. Tan is said to have joined in the beating with a militia baton. The fight resulted in Nguyen Lan being stabbed to death.
Nearly a year later, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Lam to 3 years and Long to 2 years in prison for disturbing public order. Tan, on the other hand, fled and was wanted for the same crime and also for murder.
Tan then left the area, took the fake name Vo Minh Hung and became the deputy security guard of Ward 5 in Binh Hung Hoa A Ward, Binh Tan District. Due to his achievements in fighting crime and catching robbers, in 2014 he was honored in the program "Shining in Daily Life".
While watching TV, the victim's sister realizedTan was a suspect in the murder of his brother and reported it. Tan was arrested and prosecuted for Murder and Public Order Disturbance as the ringleader and mastermind. However, he did not admit to the murder.The Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy returned the file requesting additional investigation, suspended the investigation of Tan for the crime of Murder, and prosecuted him for the crime of Disturbing public order.
Three years ago, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court held the first-instance trial.Tan was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the victim's family disagreed and filed an appeal.This verdict was annulled by the High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City due to procedural violations and many unclear details.
During the reinvestigation, the prosecution agency maintained its stance of prosecuting Tan for the crime of Disturbing public order.
In court today, defendant Tan still did not admit to the murder. "The defendant has been detained for nearly two years in prison. That sentence is severe enough, I hope the jury will consider it," Tan said.
Expressing their indignation, the victim's family representative loudly protested the court's request to convict Tan of murder. After the trial, they said they would continue to appeal.
