Female defendant collapsed when the court sentenced her to death

On the morning of June 12, among the young people who came to the Hanoi People's Court to attend, there was an old woman around 80 years old with a haggard appearance. They all waited for the special vehicle to transport the defendant to court.

At 8:10 a.m., a middle-aged woman was handcuffed and escorted out of the car by the police. She was Tran Thi Ngoc Hoa (47 years old, Hai Ba Trung district) - the person prosecuted for the crime of Illegally transporting drugs.

According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy of the same level, on the afternoon of December 17, 2017, Hoa was selling water at the 8/3 market when a strange young man came to hire her to transport 2 heroin cakes to Luong Yen bus station (Hai Ba Trung district). If the delivery was successful, Hoa would be paid 15 million VND.

The woman agreed and provided a contact phone number. Hoa then received the contraband package and took it home to hide.

Early in the morning of December 18, Hoa carefully wrapped two bricks of drugs, hung them on her motorbike, and drove to deliver the goods. At Dam Trau border gate (Hai Ba Trung district), more than 200 meters from the delivery point, Hoa was caught red-handed by the police.

At the investigation agency, Hoa admitted to the crime. The police tracked down the person who delivered the contraband according to Hoa's statement but had no results.

Responding to the jury, Hoa stated that she knew the goods she was hired to transport were drugs. However, because she was greedy, the woman quickly agreed to carry out the deal.

In her final words, Hoa shed tears and expressed remorse. The defendant hoped the court would impose a light sentence.

During the indictment, the representative of the People's Procuracy stated that Hoa committed a drug crime while having a previous conviction for disturbing public order. Hoa's behavior was considered a recidivism, which is an aggravating circumstance. However, during the investigation, the defendant confessed honestly and showed remorse. Therefore, the People's Procuracy proposed that Tran Thi Ngoc Hoa be sentenced to life in prison.

After nearly an hour of deliberation, the panel of judges found the defendant’s drug trafficking behavior to be serious. Although she had not yet received her payment, Hoa had completed the drug delivery, brought it home, and hid it while awaiting the transaction.

On that basis, the panel rejected the prosecutor's request and sentenced Hoa to death. After hearing the verdict, the 47-year-old defendant collapsed. Police and relatives had to encourage and care for Hoa on the spot before she returned to the special vehicle.