The belated moment of remorse for a child abductor.

Goat's understanding of the law was very simple and limited; he didn't think that his act of kidnapping children was against the law.

On June 25th, as usual, Thào A Dê (54 years old), residing in Xà Hồ commune, Trạm Tấu district, Yên Bái province, took four baskets to sell. After packing them neatly, Dê drove his motorbike (license plate 21T5-6730) to Trạm Tấu town and then to Bản Mù commune (Trạm Tấu) to sell his goods. Upon arriving at Khẩu Ly village, Bản Mù commune, Dê sold one basket to a man named Phàng A Bua for 200,000 dong.

The goat continued on to Mong Xi village and stopped in front of Giang A Dao's house to continue selling its goods. By midday, not a single basket had been sold. Therefore, the goat went into a restaurant in the village to eat and wait until the afternoon to sell the remaining goods.

About an hour later, a middle-aged woman, accompanied by a chubby, rosy-faced two-year-old child, approached where De was sitting selling goods (later identified as Mrs. Sung Thi Pang, with her child, Giang Hong Phong, 2 years old). De struck up a conversation with the woman. Mrs. Pang sat for about two minutes before going inside the house.

Thao A De

A dark thought flashed through De's mind: He would kidnap the baby, sell him if someone wanted to buy him; otherwise, he would keep the baby at home and raise him himself. If the parents found him, he would say he was just looking after him for a few days... The overwhelming desire to have a child made De forget his fear. Then, De lifted Phong onto his motorbike and sped off towards Tram Tau town.

As for Mrs. Sung Thi Pang, when she came out and didn't see her grandson Phong and the basket seller, she was extremely worried. Mrs. Pang shouted for help, and several people chased after them, including the child's grandfather, Giang A Dao. Following the only path, Mr. Dao caught up with De when the suspect had gone about 1km and handed him over to the Ban Mu Commune Police.

After receiving the information, the Criminal Investigation Team of Tram Tau District Police arrived at the scene, recorded statements from the victim and witnesses. Based on De's statements and the collected documents, on July 23, the Criminal Investigation Agency of Tram Tau District Police issued a decision to initiate a criminal case, indict the suspect, and execute an order to temporarily detain Thao A De for the crime of kidnapping a child.

Upon interviewing Thào A Dê, investigators were deeply saddened by his naive answers at the police station. Throughout the interrogation, Dê had to use his fingerprint to provide statements because he was illiterate. Dê's understanding of the law was very simple and limited; he didn't realize his actions were illegal. Now, Dê is extremely remorseful and hopes for leniency from the law so that he can soon return to his family.

According to the People's Police Newspaper