The wife sadly went to court to 'send' her husband to jail after 8 days of living together.

The trial of Moong Thoong Phet (born 1977), residing in Bao Thang commune, Ky Son district, for the crime of illegal drug trafficking, had only one relative of the defendant in attendance. That woman was the defendant's second wife, Ms. La Thi Xuan (born 1973), residing in Luong Minh commune, Tuong Duong district.

Ms. Xuan honestly said that after her newlywed husband's wrongdoings, she intended to give up. But because of the 8 days of being husband and wife and wanting to encourage her husband to reform, she decided to attend the trial. The gift she brought to the court to meet her husband was some gifts from her hometown and a few packages of cakes.

Defendant Moong Thoong Phet. Photo: Tran Vu

This woman confided that although she was Phet’s second wife, they had not registered their marriage. They came together after the upheavals of their first marriage. While Phet’s mistress was serving a 5-year prison sentence for human trafficking, Xuan’s ex-husband unfortunately passed away in a traffic accident.

Her husband died 7 years ago, so she raised 3 children alone. Her two older children got married, so her burden seemed to be somewhat relieved when only the youngest child was in primary school. At the end of 2018, through friends, she learned about Phet's situation. Although she knew that this man had been in prison once, she still accepted it.

She said: On March 7, 2019, he packed up a few things and moved in with me and my children in Luong Minh commune. We said we were getting married, but we only cooked a few meals to introduce to our relatives. To make a living, I went to the fields every day to work, and because he used to work for hire in Da Nang city, he always thought of going there to find work. On March 15, exactly 8 days after living with me, he said goodbye to his family to go to work far away, but unexpectedly...

Ms. Xuan only learned about her new husband’s arrest when she was summoned by the Ky Son District Police. “At that time, I was shocked and very sad. Before we got together, I knew he had been in prison once, but when I heard him promise “he would never do it again”, I accepted. Who would have thought…”, she said sadly.

The defendant's wife, La Thi Xuan, was sad because after only 8 days of living together, her husband was arrested for drug trafficking. Photo: Tran Vu

According to the investigation agency's documents, while serving his sentence at An Diem prison (Ministry of Public Security), Phet met a man named A Ly. After being released from prison, Phet applied for a job as a waiter at a restaurant in Da Nang City. In November 2018, Phet met his fellow prisoner again. At this time, A Ly told him that when he returned home, he would buy 6 million VND worth of drugs for him and would pay him 1 million VND as a fee. Phet agreed.

In early 2019, Phet returned to his hometown for Tet. In early March, A Ly called Phet and made an appointment to meet at the bus station when they arrived in Da Nang. Phet promised to arrive on March 15. To have the "goods" to deliver to his friend, on the evening of March 14, after visiting his home, Phet rode his motorbike to his wife's house to buy drugs. When passing through Dua village, Luong Minh commune, he saw two Mong men riding their motorbikes in the opposite direction. Phet signaled them to stop. Phet asked, "Do you have any drugs?" One of them said, "There's one more" and agreed to sell it to Phet for 5.7 million VND.

After getting the drugs, Phet hid them in the bushes. At 11 p.m. the same day, Phet called his younger brother to ask him to take him to Da Nang. Before his brother arrived, Phet had time to take the drugs and hide them on his person. When the motorbike carrying Phet reached Luu Thang village, Chieu Luu commune, he was caught red-handed by Ky Son district police. The evidence confiscated was 3 packages of drugs, with a total weight of 82.55 grams.

At court, Phet said he had been sentenced to 7 years in prison for illegal possession of narcotics, so he knew that buying and selling drugs was against the law. However, when a fellow inmate promised to pay him 1 million VND, he could not control his greed and agreed. For the crime of illegal drug trafficking, Moong Thoong Phet was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

It seemed that he had prepared himself mentally, so Phet was not surprised and calmly accepted the sentence. As for Ms. Xuan, she was stunned. When asked if she was waiting for her husband to return to reunite, this woman honestly said, "Not sure, maybe my life is difficult, but who can I blame? Well, I accept my fate and work with peace of mind to raise my children."

Seeing her husband being escorted back to the detention center, Ms. Xuan hurriedly ran after him to give him the gift she had prepared. Perhaps, this was the last meeting between her and the defendant...