The crime of the child with the 'drunk' father
Witnessing his father drinking heavily and neglecting the family, Truong once kicked his father to death.
Last weekend, Duong Xuan Truong (21 years old, in Soc Son district) was brought to the first instance trial at the Hanoi People's Court, on charges ofKilling.The victim was Mr. Duong Xuan Chien (48 years old), the defendant's father.
At such a young age, Truong made his mother sitting in the back row feel heartbroken when she stood before the witness stand. She sometimes sobbed as her husband's grave was still green, now she witnessed her eldest son in trouble with the law, prosecuted to the point of death. Her face was filled with worry.
The family's economy was tight due to farming, so when he had just entered high school, Truong had to drop out of school early to help his parents. During this time, Truong also had to witness his father often getting drunk, neglecting his responsibility to take care of the family's finances.
Life was difficult, with the stress that came with it every time Mr. Chien got drunk, making the family "suffocate". Truong and his mother often advised him to quit drinking, but Mr. Chien could not quit. While his mother endured, Truong started hitting and punching his father.
But Mr. Chien was still the same, continuing to drink. At noon in late February 2018, seeing his father sleeping soundly from drunkenness, Truong finished cooking and woke him up: "Dad, after you finish eating, leave the dishes and chopsticks, I'll wash them later."
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Defendant Truong at the first instance trial on March 7. |
Leaving home, going out until the afternoon, seeing that his father was still drunk and sleeping, Truong got angry and kicked his father repeatedly in the head and shoulders. After that, he went to bed and slept, leaving blood flowing from Mr. Chien's mouth.
That same evening, Truong's mother and younger brother came home from work in the fields and saw Mr. Chien lying motionless on the floor, so they questioned him. In response, the unfilial son turned around and kicked his father in the head twice more, saying, "Mom always takes Dad's side."
At this time, Mr. Chien's wife saw that blood was still flowing from her husband's mouth, so she used a tissue to wipe it away and turned to scold her son. At the same time, a neighbor passing by intervened to stop Truong and his mother from arguing loudly.
Seeing Mr. Chien lying motionless on the floor, this neighbor came to shake him but saw no response so urged to take the victim to the emergency room.
At 11pm that same day, Mr. Chien died of severe brain injury. The next morning, Truong went to the police station to surrender.
Similar to his testimony at the investigation agency, in court Truong only admitted to kicking his father "a few times". However, the presiding judge announced that the autopsy and authorities determined that the victim suffered multiple injuries caused by external force.
A juror in the trial panel said that the case was a tragedy for Truong’s family. After many years of sitting on the jury and witnessing heartbreaking cases, she believed that members must behave properly, because after all, Mr. Chien was the defendant’s father.
Hearing her story, Truong fell silent and repented, while the mother sitting in the row below choked up. She asked for her son to have a way to live so he could return to his family soon.
At the end of the first instance trial, the court sentenced Truong to life in prison./.