The trial was postponed because the defendant requested a closed trial.
(Baonghean.vn) - The defendant denied the crime many times the case was brought to trial. At the appeal hearing, the defendant still did not admit guilt and requested a closed trial.
On May 31, the Supreme People's Court opened an appeal trial for two defendants, Nguyen The Ha (born in 1963, residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong) and Le Doan Chinh (born in 1985, residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong).
Previously, on June 14, 2017, at the first instance trial, the two defendants were sentenced to death for the crimes of "Illegal drug trafficking" and "Illegal drug possession".
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| Defendants Nguyen The Ha (left) and Le Doan Chinh (right) at the appeal hearing on May 31. Photo: Phuong Thao |
The investigation agency determined that the drug line from Laos to Vietnam was formed by Nguyen The Ha in 2013. Ha was the person who directly connected with the source of drugs from Laos, bringing them back to Vietnam to sell to Tran Thanh Giang.
From September 2013 to November 30, 2013, Nguyen The Ha sold drugs to Tran Van Giang 4 times, including more than 7kg of crystal meth and 10 heroin cakes weighing 3.422kg for a total of more than 200,000 USD. Le Doan Chinh was assigned by Giang to bring drugs into Ho Chi Minh City for sale. After selling the goods, Chinh was tasked with going to a gold shop in Vinh City to receive the money sent by his partner.
On the morning of December 1, 2013, Chinh brought a large amount of heroin and crystal meth to Vinh City to catch a bus to the South with his wife. Chinh was afraid that someone was following him, so he drove his motorbike with his wife to the La Giang dike area in Hong Linh town (Ha Tinh), hid the backpack containing the drugs on the bank of a pond and left. Feeling that his actions had been exposed, Chinh and his wife packed their clothes to escape, but before they could escape, they were arrested by the police.
Based on the testimony of Chinh and his wife, the police investigation agency arrested the related subjects. During the emergency search of Ha's residence, the authorities seized 1.19 grams of heroin and 2.85 grams of crystal meth.
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| The first instance trial of the case took place on June 14, 2017. Photo: Archive |
However, during the investigation, Tran Thanh Giang died. Nguyen The Ha did not admit his crime.
After the first instance trial, Nguyen The Ha and Le Doan Chinh filed an appeal to the High People's Court. At the high appeal trial, Nguyen The Ha said that when Tran Thanh Giang was arrested, out of hatred, he revealed Nguyen The Ha to drag Ha into this network.
The drugs seized at his house, Ha said, were given to him by someone as a thank you for helping him with some work. Ha said that he could not reveal specific details about the incident involving this person, so he asked to testify further and requested a closed trial. Le Doan Chinh also did not admit to his crime because he did not know what was in the backpack.
After consultation, the panel of judges accepted the defendant's request for a closed trial and decided to adjourn the trial and hold it at a later time.
According to Article 25 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code:
The court shall conduct trials in public, and everyone has the right to attend the trial, except in cases prescribed by this Code. In special cases where it is necessary to keep state secrets, preserve national traditions and customs, protect persons under 18 years of age, or to keep private life confidential at the legitimate request of the parties, the court may conduct trials in private but must pronounce the verdict publicly.