Behind a verdict...
(Baonghean.vn) - As a child, Hoang Dinh Nghia was considered a gentle boy by his neighbors. However, as he grew up, Nghia befriended a group of unruly village boys and fell into social vices. When Nghia had to pay the price with years in prison, a considerable debt weighed heavily on his mother's shoulders…
Murder stemming from teasing a girl.
Hoang Dinh Nghia (born in 1993), residing in Long Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district), was born into a family of three brothers. His father passed away early, and his mother single-handedly raised the three brothers. From a young age, Nghia was considered by his friends and neighbors to be a cheerful and sociable boy. However, when he entered high school, Nghia gradually started associating with older gang members from the neighboring village. At that time, his eldest brother was in poor health, and his youngest sibling was still young, making Nghia the hope of his mother, siblings, and relatives. However, influenced by his friends and driven by a love of partying, Nghia dropped out of school before finishing 10th grade, despite his mother, teachers, and classmates' pleas to stop.
After a period of hanging out with bad friends, Nghia ran out of money. Unemployed, Nghia conceived the idea of stealing. Initially, he stole chickens and bags of rice from his house to get money for gambling. Gradually, he started stealing in other places. Inevitably, in 2016, Nghia was arrested for stealing a motorbike. Hoang Dinh Nghia was sentenced to 10 months in prison for "theft of property." However, not long after his release, before his criminal record was even expunged, Nghia committed another crime.
On the evening of July 29, 2018, Nghia was driving a motorbike carrying Ms. Nguyen Thi H. (born in 1988), residing in Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, heading from National Highway 48E towards Yen Thanh town. Along the way, the two encountered Mr. Thai Huu B. (born in 1997) riding a motorbike carrying Ho Dinh Doan (born in 1997), both residing in Hamlet 3, Xuan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, traveling in the same direction.
Seeing Ms. H., Thai Huu B., driving behind her, overtook her. Doan, sitting in the back, uttered vulgar words and made teasing gestures towards Ms. H., but Nghia and Ms. H. did not respond. At the intersection in Yen Thanh town, B. stopped due to traffic congestion. At this time, Nghia also arrived and stopped his vehicle parallel to B. Ms. H. used a cable to hit Doan in the back, causing Doan to flee. Nghia stayed behind and argued with B. After a while of arguing, Ms. H. and Nghia went home.
Enraged by being bullied, B. called three friends to come and intercept Nghia and Ms. H. to talk things over. When the two sides met, an argument broke out between B. and Nghia, leading to a physical altercation. Overwhelmed with anger and unable to control himself, B. punched Nghia, who dodged the blow and ran away.
However, B. did not stop but continued to chase and attack. At this point, Nghia pulled out a switchblade from his pants pocket and stabbed B. twice in the chest and back, causing the victim to collapse on the spot. Although he was taken to the hospital by local residents, due to the penetrating heart wound causing massive blood loss, B. died shortly afterward.
Upon hearing the news of B.'s death, on the morning of July 30, 2018, Nghia went to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police to surrender and confess to his actions.
The burden on the shoulders of loved ones
On a day at the end of 2018, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court held a first-instance criminal trial to hear the case against defendant Hoang Dinh Nghia for the crime of "murder." Attending the trial, in addition to family members, were many friends of both the defendant and the victim. When police officers escorted him to the witness stand, upon seeing his relatives, Nghia quickly turned away and sat with his head bowed.
At the trial, after hearing the prosecutor announce the indictment, Hoang Dinh Nghia admitted to all the crimes as charged. Given the opportunity to speak his final words, Nghia shared: “I deeply regret my impulsive and uncontrolled actions. I hope the court will consider mitigating my sentence so that I can return home to my family, rebuild my life, repay my parents, and compensate Mr. B's family.”
Considering the defendant's actions were exceptionally dangerous and thuggish in nature, taking away another person's right to life over a trivial dispute, causing a disruption of security and order; and given the defendant's poor personal record, the court, after considering all aspects of the case and taking into account aggravating and mitigating circumstances, sentenced Hoang Dinh Nghia to 17 years in prison for "murder." Regarding civil matters, the defendant is ordered to compensate the victim's family 262 million VND.
A large sum of money fell on the frail shoulders of the mother. It is known that at the time of the incident, Mrs. T.'s family managed to borrow 70 million VND to partially compensate the victim's family. Having lost her husband early, she single-handedly worked to support the entire family, investing all her savings to help her son atone for his actions.
The case took place five years ago, and even now, Mrs. Tran Thi T. (Nghia's mother) still has to work far away to earn money to pay off the remaining debt for her son. Twice, Mrs. T. received notices from the court regarding her son's trial; the first time was for the crime of "TheftRegarding the charge of "Murder," this time, Ms. T. shared: "A child's folly is the parents' burden; I bear some of the blame for the crime he committed because I didn't properly guide him, leading to this incident. The victim's family is suffering even more than I am because they have lost their child. I only hope I have the health to work and pay off the compensation to partially compensate the victim's family and wait for him (Hoang Dinh Nghia) to return and rebuild his life..."
