The tragic death of a 72-year-old man poisoned by his young lover

Cruel love

On April 9, the case related to the death of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Phu (72 years old, residing in Thanh Tien commune, Thanh Chuong district) was brought to trial. The defendant was none other than Nguyen Thi Thanh (44 years old, residing in Thanh Chi commune, Thanh Chuong district), who had a 4-year relationship with him.

Thanh's reason for killing Mr. Phu was shame and anger at the people's gossip and rumors about their love affair. However, strangely, at the trial, Thanh did not feel ashamed of Mr. Phu's wife and children. Thanh apologized, but it was for "foolishly thinking" and killing their husband and father, not for destroying the happiness of another family.

Defendant Nguyen Thi Thanh in court. Photo: Phuong Thao

Mr. Phu has a wife and children in Vinh city. He also has a garden and a house in the countryside so he often returns. In 2013, during a trip back to his hometown, he met Thanh - a divorced woman. Mr. Phu did not hide his desire to have a son to continue the family line. As for Thanh, after more than ten years of emotional deprivation, the desire to be loved made Thanh rush into an immoral love affair.

That affair lasted for 4 years, but it could not avoid the gossip and slander of the world. Thanh also heard somewhere that Mr. Phu only wanted to have a son and did not love Thanh. Thinking back to the times when Mr. Phu did not want to make it public but hid this relationship, Thanh felt even more resentful. And the tragic ending happened that no one could have predicted...

On the evening of August 8, 2017, during dinner at Mr. Phu's house, Thanh secretly poured pesticide into a glass of beer for Mr. Phu to drink. There was no reason to be wary of the woman who had been with him for several years, so Mr. Phu drank the entire glass of beer. That night, he had a severe stomachache and vomited many times. Thanh was there to take care of him. The next morning, Thanh cooked a pot of porridge for Mr. Phu to eat, but before he could eat, neighbors came to the house. The pot of porridge was later determined by the investigation agency to contain pesticide. Mr. Phu was taken to the emergency room, but after 5 days in the hospital, Mr. Phu did not survive and died.

Speaking of Thanh, that morning, seeing someone coming, Thanh quickly hid under the bed but was discovered with evidence of a package of pesticide. The tragic love affair between the 72-year-old man and his mistress ended when one died and the other went to jail.

Meaningless apology

In court, the defendant Thanh repeatedly turned to apologize to Mr. Phu’s wife and children. However, all of Thanh’s apologies became meaningless when the requests of Mr. Phu’s wife and children towards Thanh were not answered.

"We know you are a poor household so compensation is according to the law, we do not ask for it. I also have children so I understand what your child would be like without a mother. But please tell us, why did you kill my father? Then at night, my father had a stomachache and vomited, normally people would have panicked and taken him to the emergency room. Why are you so calm?", Mr. Phu's daughter said.

Defendant Thanh expressed remorse towards the victim's wife and children. Photo: Phuong Thao

In response to those questions, Thanh could not give any reasonable explanation. All she could say was, "Because I was thinking foolishly, I ask you to forgive me. I ask you (Mr. Phu's wife - PV) to forgive me."

The judge also repeatedly questioned the defendant Thanh about the reason for killing Mr. Phu. He said that "it is not logical to kill your lover because of other people's gossip." However, Thanh still insisted that he was being unreasonable.

After all, Thanh was sentenced to 15 years in prison for what he himself considered a foolish action. Attending and following the trial were only Mr. Phu's wife, children, siblings, and friends, there was absolutely no sign of Thanh's relatives. Therefore, when the trial ended, Thanh could not receive any sympathy from anyone. This love affair, right from the beginning, Thanh was wrong. 15 years, perhaps enough for Thanh to reflect on that mistake and correct himself.

Phuong Thao