20 years in prison for murderer while high on drugs

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of June 16, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a first-instance criminal trial to try Nguyen Van Thang (born in 1985, residing in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city) for murder. Thang's friend, Ho Van Thich (born in 1986, residing in Hong Son ward, Vinh city) was also prosecuted for concealing a criminal.

According to the indictment of the Provincial People's Procuracy, on the evening of July 25, 2014, after "getting high" in a motel with his friends, Thich drove Thang to Thang's house to sleep. On the way, the two turned into a row of rented houses to look for Thich's friend but could not find him. "Conveniently" Thich picked up a sharp knife in the room and gave it to Thang. When the two reached the Ga intersection, Thang discovered Ms. TA standing on the sidewalk. Thang told Thich to stop, and at the same time took the knife and walked towards where Ms. TA was standing. Thang asked Ms. TA to "break the spell" on Thang because "they could not be together".

TA told Thang that he used a lot of crystal meth and should not be crazy. Angry, Thang slapped TA and forced her to get in the car to “go and get rid of the spell”. TA refused to go, the two struggled, Thang used a knife to stab her in the chest, causing her to fall to the ground. After taking TA to the hospital and calling his mother to take care of her, Thang told Thich to drive him to Ha Tinh, then to Quang Binh.

Defendant in court

TA was rushed to the hospital but later died from shock and blood loss due to a punctured lung. The investigation agency issued a wanted notice for Thang. On December 4, 2014, Thang returned home and was arrested.

After a comprehensive review of the case, considering aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced Thang to 20 years in prison for murder. Thich was sentenced to 18 months in prison for failing to report a crime, combining the sentence with the previous sentence that had not been executed, forcing this defendant to serve a 45-month prison sentence. In civil matters, Thang must compensate the victim's family 69 million VND and be responsible for supporting TA's youngest child, who is only 13 years old, with 1 million VND per month until he reaches adulthood.

Khang Hoa