Three thieves sprayed chili powder, killing a police lieutenant.
While being chased after stealing a motorbike, 26-year-old Le Thanh Doan and two accomplices sprayed chili powder to resist arrest, causing a police lieutenant to fall off his motorbike and die.
On November 27, Doan, along with Nguyen Doan Phuoc Bao (22 years old) and Tran Ha Anh (17 years old, both from Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City), were charged with the crime.Theft of property.
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Le Thanh Doan (right) and Nguyen Doan Phuoc Bao at the police station. Photo:Thuy Phuong. |
According to the investigation, in the early morning of November 14th, Doan's group traveled from Ho Chi Minh City on two motorbikes, covering more than 10 km to Can Duoc district to commit a robbery. Upon spotting a three-wheeled vehicle parked unattended in an empty plot of land in Long Trach commune, one of them got on the motorbike, started the engine, and sped away.
Lieutenant Tong Duy Tan (30 years old, an investigator at the Can Duoc District Police) and his colleagues, who were patrolling nearby, spotted the suspect and immediately sped up to give chase.
After a two-kilometer chase, the police fired warning shots into the air, ordering the thieves to stop, but to no avail. They resisted with chili powder, forcing the car off the road, causing Lieutenant Tan and another police officer to fall. The three thieves abandoned the stolen goods and fled.
Lieutenant Tan was seriously wounded and rushed to the hospital, but he passed away two days later. He was promoted to captain ahead of schedule.
Two days later, Doan and Bao were arrested at their homes by detectives from the Long An Provincial Police in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Police. The remaining suspect was also apprehended five days later.
Police seized numerous items of evidence, including tricycles, motorcycles, electric welding machines, metal cutting machines, pepper spray canisters, chili powder, air guns, homemade knives, and drug paraphernalia.
The three suspects confessed to successfully committing three other thefts in Long An and Ho Chi Minh City. They stated that the chili powder used to attack the police was mixed with paint remover and stored in a homemade pepper spray can.