Women who are not afraid of prison food

(Baonghean.vn) -Too familiar with the four walls of prison, when hearing the jury sentence each defendant to 20 years in prison, both Minh and Tam were calm, not showing any emotion.

» Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc incites parishioners

Seemingly too familiar with the scene of standing in front of the bar, Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh (born in 1967, residing in Dich Vong ward, Cau Giay, Hanoi) calmly answered the questions of the jury. With her hair tied high, her lips and eyebrows tattooed, and her cold eyes, Minh found it difficult to gain sympathy from the person opposite. Looking at Minh's personal history, many people could not help but be "overwhelmed" by the dense "black" record of this Hanoi female monster.

Hoang Thi Ngoan and Dinh Thi Minh in court. Photo: Nhu Binh

In 1992, Minh was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence for “fraudulent appropriation of property”. In 1993, the People’s Court of Dong Da District (Hanoi) sentenced Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh to 8 months in prison for “organizing illegal use of narcotics”. Combined with the previous sentence, Minh had to serve a total sentence of 26 months in prison. After being released from prison, Minh joined a gambling ring and was sentenced to 15 months in prison by the People’s Court of Tu Liem District (Hanoi) in a 1996 trial.

In 1998, after serving her sentence for “Gambling”, it was thought that Tuyet Minh had learned to “fear” the punishments of the law, but it seemed that the sentences she had served and her time in prison had helped Minh “take her place” in the underworld of the North. Stepping out of prison, Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh became an important link in a drug ring specializing in supplying illegal goods to the capital’s gamblers.

This drug ring was quickly dismantled, and Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh received a life sentence for “Illegal drug trafficking” in 1998. Taking advantage of the prison guards’ negligence, the female monster Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh successfully escaped from prison, but before she could get far, she was recaptured and received an additional 4-year sentence for “Escape from prison”.

It was thought that Minh's life would be confined within the four walls of prison, but in June 2013, she returned to the surprise of many people.

It seems that decades of living in prison did not affect Tuyet Minh's life much. After being released from prison, she quickly integrated into life and continued to dream of getting rich from illegal business deals, especially when she connected with fellow prisoner Tran Thi Tam (born in 1973), residing in Cua Nam ward, Vinh city.

In 1999, Tran Thi Tam participated in an illegal drug trafficking ring and was sentenced to death. Tam petitioned the President for clemency. At that time, Tam's daughter was not yet 36 months old, and it was also the time when the 1999 Penal Code officially took effect, not imposing the death penalty on women raising children under 3 years old. Tam was pardoned from the death penalty to life imprisonment. Thanks to her good work reform, Tam was further reduced to a fixed-term prison sentence. In 2013, Tran Thi Tam was granted amnesty and released from prison early.

Like Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh, Tran Thi Tam seemed to be unfamiliar with earning money by her own labor. After reconnecting with Minh, Tam discussed with her friend finding a source of drugs to bring to Vinh for sale. Minh immediately agreed and eagerly went to find the source of the goods.

Subject Tran Thi Tam. Photo: Nhu Binh

During a festival, Minh accidentally met Hoang Thi Ngoan (born in 1959), residing in Phu Dong commune, Gia Lam, Hanoi. Ngoan has a rather fierce face and has been wandering in China for quite a long time. She has no husband or children and is currently living with her younger brother's family.

Knowing that Ngoan had lived in China for a while and was fluent in Chinese, Minh asked Ngoan to go to China to find drugs and bring them back to Vietnam to sell to Minh. The job was easy and the income was huge, so Ngoan agreed.

Ngoan called a Chinese man named A Lau and ordered 1.4kg of crystal meth for 270 million VND. After receiving the drugs from A Lau, Ngoan brought them home to hide at his younger brother's house.

On May 19, 2016, the younger brother's family drove to Cua Lo for a vacation. Ngoan discussed with Minh how to bring drugs to Nghe An. Minh took an early flight to Vinh City first, Ngoan found a way to hide the drugs in his younger brother's car and arrived later. The two would meet in Vinh City so Minh could get the drugs and deliver them to Tam. However, while Ngoan and Minh were handing over the drugs, they were caught red-handed by Vinh City Police.

Ngoan, Minh, and Tam were prosecuted in court for “Illegal drug trafficking”. At the trial, while Ngoan cried, tried to defend herself, and cited many evidences to get her sentence reduced, Minh and Tam seemed not to care about the sentence they were about to receive. Even standing in the dock, Tran Thi Tam continuously stroked her carefully straightened hair.

The panel of judges determined that, although Tam and Minh had bad personal records and committed crimes in a dangerous recidivism case, both of them had presented circumstances to be considered and mitigated according to the provisions of the law, and had not illegally profited from the illegal drug trafficking. Differentiating the roles of each defendant as well as considering and weighing the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh, Tran Thi Tam, and Hoang Thi Ngoan to 20 years in prison each for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".

While Hoang Thi Ngoan burst into tears over the 20-year prison sentence, Dinh Thi Tuyet Minh and Tran Thi Tam did not show any emotion. In fact, neither of them were unfamiliar or unfamiliar with the four walls of the prison!

Nhu Binh