Case of punching a colleague to death: Court summons investigator because of erased records

Because some records in the file show signs of erasure, the appellate panel trying the defendant in the case of punching someone leading to death needs to summon an investigator.

On November 17, the People's Court of Phu Tho province opened the second appeal hearing, trying defendant Nguyen Van Son (44 years old, residing in Xuan Lung commune, Lam Thao district) for the crime of intentionally causing injury with a penalty of 5 - 15 years in prison.

The victim in the case was Mr. Nguyen Huy Quyen (a colleague of Son).

Defendant Son at the appeal hearing on November 17.

During the procedural part on November 17, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Phu Tho province requested to postpone the trial due to the absence of the investigator handling the case.

Meanwhile, the victim's family's lawyer argued that the investigation content had been stated in the investigation conclusion, so the investigator's absence did not affect the trial process. Therefore, there was no need to postpone the trial.

After listening to the lawyer's opinion, the presiding judge said that the reason the panel summoned investigator Nguyen Dinh Chien to the trial was because the records showed that the crime scene investigation report had been erased but there was no confirmation.

"We do not know at what stage this content (content in the investigation file - PV) was revised. In addition, the defendant's statement was revised without confirmation. Therefore, we summoned investigator Chien," said the presiding judge.

After deliberation, the panel of judges decided to adjourn the trial and reopen it on December 8, 2017.

According to the investigation records, at around 8:30 p.m. on June 16, 2015, while playing cards at the house of Mr. Tai (a colleague of Mr. Quyen and Son), Mr. Dang Thanh Phu and Mr. Quyen had a conflict that led to a fight.

When everyone left for home, Mr. Quyen grabbed Mr. Phu's collar. Immediately, Mr. Phu used his right hand to pull Mr. Quyen's hand away. After the strong pull, Mr. Quyen's hand hit Mr. Phu's cheek, Mr. Phu's hand hit the wall, causing scratches and bleeding.

Then, Mr. Phu called out, "Son, Quyen is hitting the teacher." Hearing the call, Son turned around and thought that Mr. Phu was being beaten, so he ran to punch Mr. Quyen, but missed and Son's hand hit the wall. After that, Son continued to punch a second time, hitting the victim's face, causing him to fall and hit his forehead on the tile floor, then pass out.

Mr. Quyen was then taken to the hospital, but was pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital.

Previously, at the first instance trial in December 2015, Lam Thao District People's Court sentenced Son to 36 months in prison with a suspended sentence for the crime of "Intentionally causing injury".

However, Ms. Le Thi Thuy Nga (Mr. Quyen's wife) appealed because she believed that the case showed signs of missing criminals and the punishment was not proportionate.

At the first instance trial, the People's Court of Phu Tho province annulled the first instance judgment and returned the case file, requesting a reinvestigation.

On June 9, 2017, Lam Thao District People's Court reopened the second first-instance trial but continued to return the case file for the prosecution agencies to verify and collect documents to resolve the issue of civil compensation.

On August 7, 2017, Lam Thao District People's Court reopened the second trial. The panel of judges held that the indictment prosecuted the right person for the right crime. However, Son had mitigating circumstances such as having remedied the consequences and his family had contributed to the revolution, so he was sentenced to a sentence below the threshold of 30 months in prison.

After the second trial ended, Ms. Nga said she would continue to appeal to clarify her husband's death because she thought the case was still unclear and suspected that Son had an accomplice./.

According to VOV