A dispute over a basket of gourds led to two father and son in Nghe An being stabbed and seriously injured.

On the morning of November 19th, the People's Court of Do Luong District held a trial for the "Intentional Infliction of Injury" case against Nguyen Sy Viet, born in 1966, residing in Yen Thinh hamlet, Yen Son commune, Do Luong district. This trial was chosen by the inter-agency Court and Procuracy to be held online, with monitoring by the two-level Court and Procuracy system of Nghe An province.

Overview of the courtroom. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

According to the indictment of the People's Procuratorate of Do Luong District, at approximately 7 PM on February 1, 2019, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, born in 1963, residing in Yen Quang hamlet (Yen Son commune, Do Luong district), was tidying up vegetables at her stall in Trang market in Van Son commune (Do Luong) when Mr. Thai Ngo Anh, born in 1962, residing in Yen Minh hamlet, Yen Son commune (Do Luong), drove his cart past Ms. Hoa's stall to his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loc, who also sold goods nearby, to tidy up her stall.

As Mr. Anh pulled his cart past, he let the cart's legs press down on Ms. Hoa's basket of gourds. Seeing this, Ms. Hoa grabbed the cart's shafts to lift the legs off the basket. However, due to her weak health and the cart's weight, she dropped it to the ground rather forcefully. Seeing this, Thai Ngo Anh cursed at Ms. Hoa, then ran over and punched her repeatedly in the face with both hands, before also grabbing her by the neck.

Defendant Nguyen Sy Viet, born in 1966, at the trial. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

Seeing his mother being punched by Mr. Anh, Nguyen Van Son, born in 2003, the son of Ms. Hoa, ran up to Mr. Anh and said,The old man hit the child's mother again.Then Mr. Anh said, "Did you punch me?At the same time, he punched Son in the left cheek, but others intervened and pulled Son and Mr. Anh apart.

Then, a heated argument broke out between Thai Ngo Anh and Nguyen Van Son. Nguyen Sy Viet, who was preparing goods at the time, thought his nephew had been beaten by Thai Ngo Anh and Thai Ngo Tu (Thai Ngo Anh's son). So, Nguyen Sy Viet grabbed a fruit knife, ran to where Son was standing, and said..."Don't you dare be insolent, or I'll stab you to death!"Hearing that, Mr. Anh walked up to Mr. Viet and said..."If it tastes good, then stab it."Viet then stabbed Anh in the stomach with a knife. After pulling the knife out, Anh used his left hand to catch the knife in Viet's hand, resulting in the knife cutting his left thumb.

The fruit peeling knife - evidence in the case. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

At this moment, Thai Ngo Tu saw Mr. Viet stabbing his father, so he jumped in and grabbed Mr. Viet's hair from behind, leading to a struggle and both of them falling to the ground. During the struggle, because he was being held tightly, Tu tried to break free, causing the knife in Mr. Viet's hand to stab Tu in the neck and left arm, injuring him.

After committing the crime, Mr. Viet fled the scene and later surrendered to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Do Luong District Police. Mr. Thai Ngo Anh and Mr. Thai Ngo Tu were taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

Victims Thai Ngo Anh (left) and Thai Ngo Tu at the trial. Photo: Ngoc Phuong.

According to the forensic examination report, Mr. Thai Ngo Anh suffered a perforated intestine, requiring the removal of two sections of the small intestine, resulting in 48% bodily injury; Mr. Thai Ngo Tu suffered a severed carotid artery in the neck, resulting in 14% bodily injury.

Given the opportunity to speak his final words at the trial, defendant Nguyen Sy Viet expressed remorse and regret, hoping that the judges would reduce his sentence.

During the recess, relatives and neighbors of defendant Nguyen Sy Viet came to encourage him, hoping he would reform well and return to his family soon. Photo: Ngoc Phuong

At the trial, the People's Court of Do Luong District applied the provisions of point d, clause 3, Article 134 of the Penal Code and sentenced the defendant Nguyen Sy Viet to 3 years imprisonment for the crime of "Intentional infliction of injury". In addition to the sentence, the defendant Nguyen Sy Viet must compensate the two victims 100 million VND as requested by the victims (15 million VND has already been paid).

Ngoc Phuong