Husband in prison, pregnant woman 'follows in footsteps' with life sentence

(Baonghean.vn) - Just last year, Xoan carried her 3-year-old daughter and ran after her whenhusbandwas led to the car to return to the prison. But today, Xoan came to court with her unborn child, as a defendant in a drug case.

A few years ago, Ngo Thi Xoan (born in 1971, residing in Vinh City, Nghe An) became famous for carrying a coffin to collect debt. The reason is said to be that when Xoan's husband was arrested with 3 heroin cakes, with a sentence that could be up to the death penalty, hearing that there was someone who could "run the case" for her husband, Xoan gathered hundreds of millions of dong to ask for help.

Subject Ngo Thi Xoan when arrested. Documentary photo

That time, Nguyen Thanh Tam (Xoan's husband) was sentenced to life in prison. The person who ran the case did not keep his promise but refused to return the money. When they could not get it back, Xoan and some people brought a coffin to this person's house to put pressure on him.

Afterwards, Nguyen Thanh Tam’s sentence was reduced from life to 20 years in prison, of course not because of pressure to expedite the sentence, but because the authorities re-examined the drug content of the evidence in the case. The case of carrying a coffin to collect debt caused a stir in public opinion and thanks to that, Xoan’s reputation among the underworld in Vinh city increased by several levels.

The couple Tam - Xoan are also quite famous, especially when both of them "carry" on their shoulders many criminal records. If Nguyen Thanh Tam has 4 criminal records, 1 for gambling, and is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for "Illegal drug trafficking", then Ngo Thi Xoan is not far behind when she "possesses" 2 criminal records for "Gambling" and 1 criminal record for "Resisting a person on duty".

On the day of her husband’s trial, Xoan and her children attended. After the trial ended, Nguyen Thanh Tam was escorted to the car to return to prison. Ngo Thi Xoan carried her third daughter through the crowd and ran forward, reaching out to bring her daughter up so Tam could kiss her.

Witnessing that moment, many people would think that, more than anyone else, Xoan understood the pain of separation, the consequences that drugs caused to herself and many other families. However, Xoan herself followed her husband's footsteps and fell into another drug ring.

On the evening of March 19, 2017, Xoan received a phone call from a man named Truyen (unknown identity or specific background) asking him to meet a man to receive 2 heroin cakes for him. Truyen would pay Xoan 10 million VND.

After receiving the “goods”, Xoan took them home to hide. Following Truyen’s instructions, Xoan brought one heroin cake to the pre-arranged location to deliver to Truyen, and put the remaining heroin cake in a styrofoam box and hid it behind the house.

On March 21, 2017, when Xoan brought heroin to the area along the Vinh city football field to deliver to Truyen, he was discovered and arrested by the police.

When Xoan was arrested, her fourth child was already taking shape in her womb. Because she was pregnant, Ngo Thi Xoan was released on bail to serve the investigation. In mid-September 2017, the People's Court of Nghe An Province brought the case to trial, which was also when Ngo Thi Xoan was 6 months pregnant.

Xoan was “escorted” to court by her son and a few relatives. The trial opened in the afternoon, the hot weather combined with the large fetus and Xoan’s age, made the female defendant quite tired. The panel of judges allowed Xoan to sit down to answer questions related to the case.

The amount of drugs Ngo Thi Xoan transported. Photo archive

The presiding judge determined that the crime committed by the defendant Ngo Thi Xoan was particularly serious, the amount of drugs involved was large (more than 700g), the defendant had a bad personal history, however, the defendant confessed honestly, her family had contributed to the revolution, the defendant herself was pregnant... it was necessary to apply mitigating circumstances, demonstrating the leniency of the law.

Considering the case as a whole, the People's Court sentenced Ngo Thi Xoan to life in prison for "Illegally transporting narcotics", the prison term calculated from the time she is eligible to serve the sentence.

The trial ended, Ngo Thi Xoan sat silently on the chair for a while before standing up. Her son helped her leave. The afternoon sun made the atmosphere even more stifling. On the day Xoan was to serve her sentence, there would be at least two children without their mother’s care. Xoan’s steps were heavy as if she was carrying a rock…

Nhu Binh