The late regret of a woman who invited her lover to cross the border from Laos to Nghe An to sell drugs
(Baonghean.vn) - After divorcing her husband, Gia Tho raised four children alone. Under the pressure of money, this woman could not overcome the trap of drugs. Gia Tho decided to buy 'white goods' on credit to deliver to customers. Before leaving for Vietnam, Gia Tho also invited her lover to join.
Born in 1985, in Vieng Phan village cluster, Sam To district, Hua Phan province (Laos), Gia Tho has 4 children. Due to an unhappy marriage, Gia Tho and her husband, who is 1 year older, decided to go their separate ways. After the separation, Gia Tho raised her young children alone.
Accordingly, in early March 2019, when receiving a phone call ordering 1 kg of crystal meth for 150 million VND and 1 heroin cake for 160 million VND from a woman named Hua (Vietnam), Gia Tho agreed and then secretly searched for a source of "goods". On March 18, Hua continued to call Gia Tho and said he would bring drugs to a location in Que Phong district to sell to customers. Having no money, Gia Tho decided to buy a heroin cake on credit from a Laotian for 120 million VND.
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| The two defendants Gia Tho and Tong Va at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu |
Before the departure date, Gia Tho called Tong Va (born in 1980, living in the same Vientiane village) and invited him to go with him. Although he knew that his lover was asking him to participate in drug trafficking, Tong Va agreed. Afterwards, Tong Va drove a motorbike carrying Gia Tho and the drugs to Vietnam.
To avoid the authorities, when arriving at the Laos-Vietnam border area, Gia Tho gave the heroin cake to Tong Va to take to walk on the illegal route, while he himself rode a motorbike alone. The two arranged to meet at Thong Thu commune. About 30 minutes later, when they met, they took turns keeping watch. After noticing signs of a drug buyer, the two subjects immediately took out the "goods" to carry out the transaction. However, when Gia Tho and Tong Va were preparing to deliver the drugs to the buyer, they were discovered and caught red-handed by Nghe An Provincial Police, who seized a heroin cake weighing 351.05 grams.
The trial of Gia Tho and Tong Va for “Illegal drug trafficking” took place on the last day of August. Perhaps due to the geographical distance, not a single relative of the two defendants attended the trial that day. During the entire time waiting for the court to start, both of them sat quietly.
Through an interpreter, the two defendants admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. Gia Tho mumbled that if the deal had gone through, he would have pocketed 30 million VND in profit. However, the transaction did not go as the defendants had planned.
In front of the witness stand, Gia Tho justified his crime because of poverty. The female defendant burst into tears when mentioning her four young children. Gia Tho always worried: "If I go to prison, who will take care of my children when my husband and I have gone our separate ways? I was wrong, I ask the court to reduce my sentence so that I can return home to my children soon," the interpreter quoted Gia Tho's words.
The accomplice in the case, Tong Va, also confessed to the crime. The defendant admitted to being Gia Tho’s lover. After being invited by his lover to go to Vietnam to sell drugs and receive a large sum of money, he participated in this deal. “If I had known that drug trafficking would be treated so strictly by Vietnamese law, I would not have participated. I regret it very much,” Tong Va stated.
No relatives came to the court, so during the deliberation, the two defendants could only sit and ponder. Seeing the defendant in another case taking the opportunity to meet his relatives, Gia Tho turned to look at her with tears in his eyes. Through the interpreter, the female defendant said she missed her children very much and felt guilty towards her, especially her youngest child who was only 7 years old. As she spoke, Gia Tho lingered with her handcuffed hands, head bowed, and tears falling.
Sitting next to him, Tong Va repeatedly avoided his accomplice's gaze. The fact that he had his own family but because of his mistress, he crossed the border to Vietnam to sell drugs made the defendant feel guilty towards his wife and children. Therefore, before that, during the interrogation and debate, Tong Va showed sincerity in his confession, hoping to receive leniency from Vietnamese law.
The panel of judges determined that the prosecution of the two defendants for the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking” was the right person, the right crime. In Laos, the two defendants had good personal records and committed the crime for the first time, which are mitigating factors applied by Vietnamese law. Considering the case as a whole, the court sentenced Gia Tho to 20 years in prison and Tong Va to 18 years in prison, both for the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”.
Blinded by the profits from illegal money, the two Lao defendants received a total sentence of 38 years in prison. If only Gia Tho had thought of his children before getting involved with drugs, perhaps the belated tears would not have been shed in court now.