Van Xuan taxi driver killer sentenced to life in prison

(Baonghean.vn) - The man who went to Vinh City to hire a taxi to return to Ha Tinh to murder the driver and steal the car and property bowed his head and admitted his guilt in court and was sentenced to life in prison.

On November 25, the People's Court of Ha Tinh province opened a criminal trial, the first instance trial of defendant Nguyen Xuan Linh (27 years old, residing in Thach Binh commune, Ha Tinh city, Ha Tinh province) prosecuted for murder and robbery.

According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Ha Tinh province, on the night of January 13, 2016, after drinking beer with some friends, Linh hid a sharp knife in his shirt and took a bus to Nghe An province.

Subject Nguyen Xuan Linh.

When the bus arrived at Ben Thuy bridge (Vinh city, Nghe An), Linh got off and took a taxi with license plate number 37A-148.92 driven by Nguyen Anh Tuan (39 years old, residing in Trung Do ward, Vinh city, Nghe An). Linh asked Tuan to take him to Hong Linh town and then to Duc Tho district (Ha Tinh).

When he reached km9 of National Highway 8A in Trung Le commune (Duc Tho district), looking around, he saw that it was dark and there were no people around, so Linh told Tuan to stop the car. As soon as the car stopped, Linh pulled out a knife and restrained Tuan.

During the struggle with the suspect, Mr. Tuan was stabbed multiple times, including one wound to the left chest. Taking advantage of Linh's vulnerability, Mr. Tuan opened the car door and ran out. However, after running 90 meters, Mr. Tuan collapsed on the road and died.

After committing the crime, Linh drove the car back and fled towards Ha Tinh City and threw the knife about 3 km away from the scene. When he reached Hong Linh town, the car tire blew out, so Linh stopped to take a tablet and 1 million VND from Mr. Tuan in the car and fled on foot, but was arrested by Hong Linh town police on the morning of January 14.

At the trial, Linh initially changed his testimony and claimed he was innocent and did not confess honestly. However, after Linh's defense attorney spoke and Linh's mother stood up to advise her son to confess honestly to enjoy leniency under the law, Linh bowed his head and confessed.

The first instance panel of judges determined that the defendant Linh had not yet cleared his criminal record and continued to commit an especially serious crime, with hooliganism, when he used a knife to take the life of another person. In addition, Linh also committed robbery, causing disorder and traffic safety, and needed to be severely punished. At the end of the trial, the panel of judges sentenced Linh to life in prison for murder and 13 years in prison for robbery. The total sentence Linh must serve is life in prison.

Khanh An