Two brothers threatened their fellow villagers, leading to death.

(Baonghean.vn)- From a joke, the two Vi brothers threatened their neighbor by hitting his head on the ground, leading to his death. After appealing, the sentence for the two brothers was increased to 12 years in prison.

On July 12, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal appeal trial against two defendants, brothers Vi Van Dau (born 1969) and Vi Van Than (born 1968), both residing in Lung village, Tam Thai commune, Tuong Duong, for the crime of intentionally causing injury.

According to the records, at around 6:30 p.m. on August 16, 2016, Than was sitting in front of his house when he saw Luong Van Vong (born in 1977), also residing in Lung village, Tam Thai commune, Tuong Duong district, holding two knives, passing by and asking: "Which knife do you like, a big knife or a small knife?". Than was afraid that Vong would slash him so he ran into the house. Seeing that, Than's wife and some people ran out to stop him, but Vong returned with the knife.

Defendants Vi Van Than and Vi Van Dau at the trial. Photo: Khanh An

Before leaving, Mr. Vong said that he was "just joking with Mr. Than". After Mr. Vong returned home, Than called Vi Van Dieu (his younger brother) and said "someone wants to kill me". Dieu called and told his brother Dau what he said, then rode his motorbike to Dau's house and took Dau to Than's house. A while later, Mr. Vong and his wife, Ms. Lo Thi Luong, arrived in front of Than's house. Mr. Dieu asked Mr. Vong: "Why did you want to kill Mr. Than?" Mr. Vong replied: "I didn't do anything to you, I was just joking". After a while of arguing, the two brothers Dau and Than beat Mr. Vong, causing Mr. Vong to fall and hit his head on the ground, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.

Mr. Vong was taken to Tam Thai Commune Health Station, Tuong Duong District General Hospital, and then transferred to the provincial hospital. However, due to the severity of his injuries, Mr. Vong died at 9:00 p.m. on August 17, 2016.

After Mr. Vong died, Than and Dau were arrested and prosecuted for intentional infliction of injury.

On April 19, 2017, the People's Court of Tuong Duong district held a first-instance trial and sentenced Than to 6 years in prison and Dau to 5 years and 6 months in prison for intentionally causing injury.

Regarding civil matters, the first-instance court ordered Than and Dau to compensate the victim's family 133 million VND and ordered the defendants to provide monthly child support for the victim's two children of 400,000 VND until they are 18 years old, and monthly child support for the victim's father of 400,000 VND.

Than and Dau then appealed to the appellate court to reduce their sentences so they could return home soon to earn money to compensate the victim’s family. Meanwhile, Ms. Lo Thi Luong (Mr. Vong’s wife) appealed to increase the sentences for the two defendants and increase civil compensation.

The appellate panel rejected the appeals of defendants Than and Dau, accepted part of the appeal of Ms. Lo Thi Luong, partially amended the first instance judgment, sentenced defendant Than to 6 years in prison, and increased the sentence of defendant Dau from 5 years and 6 months in prison to 6 years in prison for the crime of intentionally causing injury.

Regarding civil matters, the defendants Than and Dau compensated Ms. Luong with an additional amount of more than 10 million VND and provided monthly support for the victim's two children of 600,000 VND until they are 18 years old, and monthly support for the victim's father of 400,000 VND until he passes away./.

Khanh An