Horrifying deaths due to superstition

The mastermind strangled his son, tied up and tortured people to death, shot innocent people… all because he believed in fortune telling. These cases have caused a stir in public opinion for a long time.

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Grandmother murdered 20-day-old grandchild

Most recently, the case of a 20-day-old baby being kidnapped and murdered in Thanh Hoa shocked public opinion.

It is worth mentioning that the suspect in the murder of the 20-day-old baby girl is Pham Thi Xuan (65 years old, residing in Thai Binh), the baby's grandmother.

Crowds of people gathered at the child's house. Photo: VietNamNet

Ms. Xuan confessed that the fortune teller said that her granddaughter was the "evil spirit" in the family, if her granddaughter lived, she would die and vice versa. Therefore, on the evening of November 25, Ms. Xuan murdered her granddaughter and staged a kidnapping.

The next morning (November 26), Ms. Xuan secretly put the baby's body in a sack and threw it in the trash.

On November 27, while picking up trash at the town's landfill, a resident discovered the baby's body in a sack with the name of Mr. Thuan, Ms. Xuan's son, and his phone number written on the outside.

After being arrested by the investigation agency, Pham Thi Xuan confessed all her crimes.

Mother and grandmother sat and watched friends strangle son to death

In 2015, a murder case also caused a stir in public opinion because the victim was a son, and the masterminds of the murder were the victim's mother and grandmother.

Defendant Thao, the victim's biological mother, at the trial. Photo: VietNamNet

According to the investigation of the Criminal Police Department, at noon on the first day of Tet (19/solar calendar), the officer on duty at the People's Committee of Ward 9, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City received unexpected information about the death of Huynh Son Vy (born 2000).

According to Ms. Huynh Lan Thao (born 1974, Vy's mother), Vy died from a fall at home and the family requested to obtain a death certificate for Vy. However, when the police investigated, they discovered that Vy's body had very clear marks around the neck. After that, the suspects were detained for investigation.

Confessing to the police, Ms. Thao, Vy’s mother, admitted that Vy had previously shown many unusual signs, suffered from mental illness, and was taken to many places by his family for treatment but was not cured. After that, Vy was taken to many “masters” to worship and was believed to be possessed by a saint.

On New Year's Eve, Thao and her mother called four friends to come to the apartment to chant sutras and perform a resurrection and "sainthood" ceremony.

Early the next morning, Thao’s son used a red cloth to wrap around his neck and asked everyone to tighten it to perform the ceremony. After a while, Thao’s son fainted from suffocation. Everyone was scared and stopped. However, Thao shouted: “Don’t let go, continue to tighten so that the Saint won’t torture you” to help ease the pain when her son woke up.

Hearing that, Thao's four friends continued to strangle the child until he collapsed on the floor. The group continued chanting until morning. At this time, Thao discovered that her son had been dead for a long time.

At the first instance trial, Huynh Lan Thao (born 1973) was sentenced to 3 years in prison for "Practicing superstition", the other defendants were also sentenced in accordance with the law.

Mistaken for a "fishing ghost", young woman shot dead while sleeping

Just because of superstition, thinking that the girl in the village was a "fishing ghost", Thao A Ho used a gun to shoot and kill Giang Thi Su (born in 1972) in Huoi Dap village, Na Khoa commune, Muong Nhe district, Dien Bien while the victim was sleeping.

Crime scene. Photo: Laborer

Thao A Ho agreed and paid an advance of 1,500,000 VND. On January 30, after borrowing a flintlock gun with powder and a detonator, Ho went home to get some more iron ball bullets and put them in the gun barrel, then sat waiting at the drainage near the highway. At the investigation agency, Thao A Ho stated: About a week before the incident, someone told Ho: "Mrs. Su knows how to be a witch, we must kill her or she will make my wife and children sick" and hired Ho 3,000,000 VND to kill Su.

At dawn, Thao A Ho walked to Giang Thi Su's house. Through the light in the house, Ho saw Su's head lying opposite between two gaps in the wooden wall, so Ho aimed the gun at Giang Thi Su's head and pulled the trigger. After finishing, Thao A Ho ran to demand the remaining 1,500,000 VND and fled.

It is worth mentioning that when they heard that Giang Thi Su had been murdered, many people from Huoi Dap village came to see her, but because of their lack of legal knowledge and low level of education, everyone was happy, thinking that the "fishing ghost" had been killed and could no longer make the villagers sick. Therefore, the investigation work of the investigators encountered many difficulties.

Tie up the sick and steam them to death

Another case we would like to mention is the tragic death of a mentally ill person. The cause of death was due to the family’s poor awareness and the superstitious practitioner’s disregard for other people’s lives. The victim of this case was Ms. Nguyen Thi Xinh (born 1949).

Ms. Xinh suffered from mental illness but her family sought treatment in many places but could not cure her. Hearing that "Master" Tuan (Vo Anh Tuan, born in 1954 in Tan An town, Long An province) had the special talent to cure all diseases, her family took her to him for treatment.

When coming into contact with the patient, Tuan thought that she was "suffering from evil spirits and demons, which is why she was mentally ill." And to "exorcise the demons" from Ms. Xinh, Tuan told his family to tie her to a pillar in a sitting position, cover her with cloth, and use fire to fumigate her.

As a result, Ms. Xinh suffered burns and died on the spot. Tuan was sentenced to 4 years in prison by the Long An Provincial People's Court for practicing superstition, causing serious consequences...

Tied up and tortured the victim to death

In Ha Giang, in 2010, after the death of a villager, Trieu Ta Nhan went to Trieu Dun Ho's house (born 1924) to tie him up and drag him to the funeral for questioning because he heard that this man knew how to perform the Ngu Hai ghost.

When going to arrest and tie people up, Trieu Ta Nhan brought a knife and bought a 3m rope.

At about 4:00 p.m. the same day, Trieu Ta Nhan went to Trieu Dun Ho's house, tied him up, and took him to the funeral to clarify the matter before the villagers.

On the way, Mr. Trieu Dun Ho did not admit to the act of "releasing the ghost of Ngu Hai" to harm the villagers, so Trieu Ta Nhan used a knife to cut his left ear, beat and kicked Mr. Trieu Dun Ho many times, then pushed him into the water.

While crossing the stream, Mr. Ho tripped and refused to continue. Trieu Ta Nhan kicked and stomped on his ribs many times until he lay motionless. Trieu Ta Nhan pushed Mr. Ho into the water. Mr. Trieu Dun Ho suffered multiple injuries and suffocated due to flooding, leading to his death.

After killing Mr. Trieu Dun Ho, Trieu Ta Nhan went to the funeral to eat and drink wine and informed everyone that he had killed Mr. Trieu Dun Ho and then turned himself in.

At the trial, defendant Trieu Ta Nhan confessed to the crime of murder. The case has been closed, but this is a lesson for ethnic minority youth, who, due to their backward education level, have shallow thinking, leading to such a serious crime.

According to VNN