Tears of regret of death row inmate when facing 2 young children

The source of the crime started from the time he went to repair the car.

At the age of 25, Va Ba Xe, residing in Huu Khuong commune, Tuong Duong district, is already a young father of two children. Xe is a Mong ethnic. Xe's wife is a girl from the same village, about the same age. Every day, Xe often goes to the forest to work on the fields while his wife mainly stays at home to do housework and take care of the children. Life is not yet rich but warm with the small children in the mountains and forests. Compared to everyone else, Xe's life is somewhat disadvantaged because he is an orphan.

But then, Xe lost the peace of his small family when he participated in drug trafficking with a subject on the other side of the border. The amount of drugs that defendant Xe participated in was nearly 3 kg. Perhaps partly anticipating the sentence he would receive, Xe cried during both trial sessions.

And Ba Xe cried in regret. Photo: Tran Vu

Xe's crime began when he went to repair his car in the border commune of Tri Le (Que Phong district) in April 2020. At this repair shop, Xe met a man named Tua (Lao nationality). Tua said that there was a "good" on the other side of the border, if he knew anyone who wanted to buy, he could introduce them. Xe understood, nodded in agreement, and the two exchanged phone numbers.

After that meeting, Xe continued to work and live normally. Xe also forgot about ever meeting the Lao man. Until one day in June 2020, Xe received a message via Zalo from a person who introduced himself as Thuan. This person said he wanted to buydrug, asked Xe for help. Xe immediately reported to Tua. The Lao drug seller said that 1 kg of methamphetamine cost 100 million VND, if Xe sold it, Tua would give him an additional 5 million VND per kg. Xe reported to the buyer and Thuan agreed to buy 3 kg of methamphetamine, for 300 million VND. When Xe received the goods from Tua to deliver to Thuan, he was arrested by the police. The drug buyer quickly ran away. And Ba Xe was arrested with 3 kg of methamphetamine. With the above amount of drugs, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province participating in the prosecution at the court proposed that the panel of judges sentence Va Ba Xe to death.

Late Apology

Facing the death sentence, defendant Xe seemed to lose his voice. The defendant stated in a choked voice: “Since being detained, I have thought and regretted a lot. I know that being involved in drugs is wrong, but I ask the court to give me a way to live, my child is still young…” Throughout the two trials, Xe always claimed that he only had a secondary role in the case. Xe revealed some new details about Thuan, so the panel decided to pause the case once. However, in the reopened trial, Xe’s testimony was unfounded. Identifying the man named Thuan was extremely difficult from the little information Xe provided.

The trial of defendant Xe took place quite quickly, but the image of the reunion between the defendant and his children made many people feel sorry. That day, with the permission of the court security officer, the young wife, crying, led her two children from the hallway into the house. As soon as he saw his child, Xe cried and apologized. "Daddy is here, baby. I'm sorry," Xe cried as he took his handcuffed hands to take the child, who was less than 1 year old, from his wife's arms. The cry of the baby in his arms made Xe cry even louder. After trying to comfort the child for a while without success, Xe had to leave him with his wife. Relatives said that at the time of Xe's arrest, the baby was only 6 months old. Due to the distance, his wife and children rarely came to visit Xe. That was probably the reason why the child cried in fear when his father held him after a long time apart.

And Ba Xe looked back to find his son. Photo: Tran Vu

The older son, 5 years old, was bolder when he met his father. Xe gently stroked his son's cheek, crying and calling his son's name. The young father kept saying apologies to his son. Seeing her husband crying, his wife standing next to him also choked up. In a moment of calm, Xe shared: "What I fear most now is not having the chance to return to see my wife and children. My children are still too young." Saying that, Xe covered his face and cried.

And then, Xe's fear came true. With the large amount of drugs the defendant was involved in trading, the jury sentenced Va Ba Xe to death. Although he had somewhat predetermined the sentence he would receive, Xe could not hold back his tears. Being escorted out of the court, Xe turned to look at his wife and children. In that moment, the young wife only had time to run out with her two children, chasing after her husband...