The pain of two wives whose husbands got injured and another got into trouble because of a glass of wine

The People's Court of Nghe An province has just opened a first-instance criminal trial to try Lu Van Tuong (born in 1983), residing in Chau Phong commune, Quy Chau district, for murder. The victim in the case, although fortunately survived the critical stage, will be disabled for life. More heartbreakingly, the defendant and the victim were neighbors, sharing the same life. Just because of a glass of wine, both families fell into tragedy.

Previously, on the last day of September 2019, Tuong, Ngoc and some neighbors organized a meal and drank wine at a house in the village. During the drinking process, Ngoc and Tuong argued about filling the wine cup, emptying the cup. In the early afternoon, when everyone was tipsy, 4 bottles of wine were empty, it was time for the party to end. Everyone started to go home, but Tuong and Ngoc continued to provoke each other, leading to a conflict.

At that time, Ngoc was standing on the stairs, and Tuong was below. Seeing Ngoc's rude words and actions, Tuong looked for a knife to deal with it. When Tuong climbed the stairs, Ngoc punched him. Then, Tuong used the knife to slash Ngoc's arm and head. The two struggled and fell down the stairs.

Defendant Lu Van Tuong was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

Mr. Ngoc suffered serious injuries to his head, arms, and body, so he was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment. After more than 2 months of treatment at the hospital, he was discharged with a 65% disability. The investigation agency determined that although the victim did not die, Lu Van Tuong's actions constituted the crime of murder.

In court, defendant Lu Van Tuong still insisted that he did not commit murder as charged in the indictment. The defendant did not intend to kill Ngoc but only slashed him out of anger. “If I wanted to kill someone, I would have cut his neck, not other places,” Tuong testified. The defendant also said that the authorities had not objectively assessed the victim’s injuries and requested the court to re-assess the victim’s disability rate.

Attending the trial as a victim, Mr. Ngoc lamented that since the incident, his family life has been turned upside down. He himself has lost his ability to work and cannot do anything, so the burden of the family falls on the shoulders of his wife, Ms. Vi Thi Hue.

Pointing to his injured arm, Mr. Ngoc said, “More than half a year has passed, but my left arm still cannot move, and my right arm has a cut on the shoulder, and every time the weather changes, the old wound relapses and aches. Not to mention that a part of the skull bone cannot be operated on because there is no money. “The doctors estimate the cost of the surgery on the head alone to be more than 90 million VND. That is a huge amount of money for my family. Meanwhile, we still owe the debt of 70 million VND for the previous hospitalization,” Ms. Hue said sadly, worried about her husband’s health.

The defendant's wife could only bow her head when attending court. Photo: Tran Vu

According to Ms. Hue, before the accident, Mr. Ngoc was the breadwinner of the family. In addition to farming, he and his wife also raised chickens and pigs. Life was not yet prosperous but it was enough for them to take care of their two young children. Suddenly, Mr. Ngoc was slashed and could no longer function normally as before, so from then on all the work fell on Ms. Hue's shoulders, leaving a deep impression of hardship in this woman's eyes.

Sitting a few rows in front of Ms. Hue was the defendant’s wife. Coming to court to see her husband, this woman was equally heartbroken by her husband’s wrongdoings. Being much older than her husband, her hard-working life made this woman look much older than her age. She explained that due to difficult circumstances, she had only been able to provide the victim’s family with nearly 3 million VND. After her husband caused the shocking incident, she often visited the victim’s family to visit and encourage them.

Two small, miserable women now have to shoulder the burden of the whole family just because of their husbands' drinking. Perhaps because of sympathy for each other's situation, in court, the victim's wife did not blame the defendant's wife. Ms. Hue also showed sympathy for the defendant's wife's difficult situation.

For the crime of murder, Lu Van Tuong was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The defendant was forced to compensate the victim more than 120 million VND.

Seeing her husband being taken away, the wife could only watch. Her young husband was in trouble with the law, so from now on she would have to shoulder all the household chores. Not to mention the large sum of money that her family had to pay in compensation to the victim’s family. Meanwhile, in the other row, Ms. Hue also quietly helped her husband leave the court. Her husband was injured and could not do anything, so the burden of life continued to weigh on her thin shoulders.