Female student who poisoned her father was sentenced to life in prison

On the afternoon of December 15, Linh, 21 years old, was sentenced to life in prison by the People's Court of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province for the crimes ofMurder, Illegal trafficking of toxic substances, Destruction of propertyThe verdict was issued by the panel of judges after 6 days of deliberation to review and evaluate the case comprehensively. The court's sentence was lower than the previous proposal of the People's Procuracy (death penalty).

The person who sold cyanide to Linh, Tran Thi Ngoc Thu (31 years old, from Dak Lak), was sentenced to 2 years in prison for the crime.Illegal trade in toxic substances.Because the victim's representative did not request compensation from the defendants, the court did not consider civil liability.

According to the panel of judges, defendant Linh had negative thoughts in a short period of time, using many dangerous tricks to kill his father and burn down the house to destroy evidence. The defendant's actions were particularly serious, committing multiple crimes at the same time.

However, the defendant also had some mitigating circumstances; he was not a troublemaker or disobedient person, but was gentle and studious. "The panel also considered the humanity and leniency of Vietnamese law; the wish of the victim's representative to earnestly request leniency for the defendant... so it considered a suitable punishment for the defendant," the verdict stated.

Tong Thi Tung Linh listens to the verdict

According to the indictment, Linh is the youngest of two children. Every day, the female student was scolded by her father, Mr. Tong Hong Diep (54 years old), so she had the idea of ​​killing him. In September 2021, she crushed a sleeping pill and mixed it into a bottle of water. Mr. Diep drank it all but it did not affect his health.

After searching online about cyanide, Linh took a bus from Ba Ria City to Kim Bien Market (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City) to buy the poison. The female student told the shop owner, Tran Thi Ngoc Thu, that she "needed cyanide for an experiment during her studies". Thinking it was real, Thu sold it.

Tong Thi Tung Linh in court on December 9. Photo:Truong Ha

After receiving the goods, Linh put them in her backpack and took a taxi home when it was almost dark. Seeing Mr. Diep sitting on a hammock drinking alone, Linh went to take a shower and cook. Two hours later, she mixed cyanide into 3 bottles of soft drinks and put them in the refrigerator. About 5 minutes later, Mr. Diep took a bottle of green tea to drink, and found it had a strange smell so he spit it out.

He went into the bathroom, locked the door, and vomited. Linh knocked on the door to ask, but Mr. Diep did not answer. When she heard no more noise, she assumed her father was dead, so she went to sleep.

On the morning of January 19, Linh went to buy a saw to break the bathroom door, dragged Mr. Diep's body out and tried to dispose of it, but failed. She left her father lying in the back corner of the house. After that, Linh went to buy bricks and cement to hide the victim's body. At night, realizing that her actions might be discovered, the female student took gasoline available in the house and poured it everywhere, lit it on fire, then ran to her grandfather's house next door, shouting that "strangers broke in, beat and burned the house".

When the fire was extinguished, the police discovered many unusual traces, then found Mr. Diep's body.

Judge Nguyen Thanh Hieu, presiding judge of the trial, read the verdict. Photo:Truong Ha

During the trial, Linh cried many times, admitted that his actions were brutal, and asked his father and family for forgiveness. The defendant, his mother and sister all affirmed that Mr. Diep was a capable man, the economic pillar of the family, and raised his children to study. However, in daily life, he often scolded and beat his wife and children. They were pressured and depressed, but for a long time did not speak out for fear of losing face.

While his relatives said that Mr. Diep drank, he slept when drunk and did not fight with anyone. They also had never heard of the victim beating his wife and children. When asked by the court, they all asked for a lighter sentence for the defendant.

During the nearly 40 minutes of hearing the verdict, Linh appeared quite calm, showing little emotion. Only when the jury announced the life sentence did the defendant close his eyes and stagger. The trial ended, Linh turned to her mother and relatives, bowed her head before being taken back to prison by the police.