Tea garden owner beats tea thief to death

The High People's Court in Hanoi has just opened a criminal appeal trial to try Mac Van Lieu (born in 1967, residing in Yen Hop commune, Quy Hop district) for the crime of "Killing”. The trial was opened due to the defendant's appeal.

According to the first instance verdict, because his tea trees were often stolen, at around 7:00 p.m. on March 2, 2020, when he discovered Mr. MVH (born in 1968) entering his tea garden, Mac Van Lieu ran out to see. This man picked up a piece of bamboo about 2.5 meters long before entering the garden.

When Lieu saw Mr. H. cutting down his tea, he asked him why Mr. H. had run away, so he chased after him. After running a distance, Mr. H. turned back and attacked the garden owner with a knife. Lieu used a bamboo stick to hit Mr. H. in the head, chest, and stomach, causing the man to fall down and the knife to fly to the ground.

Defendant Mac Van Lieu. Photo: Tran Vu

Lieu picked up a knife and attacked Mr. H.'s face. Seeing the victim lying unconscious, Lieu called for witnesses and explained that he had not beaten him. The victim was then taken home by relatives. Mr. H. died at dawn the next day.

The cause of Mr. MVH’s death was determined to be a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage due to trauma. Upon learning of Mr. H’s death, Mac Van Lieu turned himself in to the police. At the request of the victim, Lieu’s family paid the full compensation of 60 million VND.

At the first instance court, defendant Lieu admitted his crime. The defendant stated that he was upset when bad guys cut down his tea garden many times, so when he saw Mr. H. holding a knife to cut his tea, and was slashed by the latter, he could not control himself, leading to his crime. The first instance court determined that the defendant's murder was hooligan. In this case, the victim was partly at fault, and the court sentenced Mac Van Lieu to 10 years in prison.

The defendant argued that the first instance judgment was too harsh and appealed for a lighter sentence. At the appeals court, Lieu argued that the first instance court's determination that the defendant's murder was a hooligan act was incorrect. The defendant said that he did not intend to kill anyone but that H. had stolen tea and then beaten him first. Therefore, the defendant acted in self-defense.

The defendant also presented his family circumstances and lack of legal knowledge to ask for a reduced sentence.

Considering that at this trial, the defendant did not provide any new information compared to the first instance court. The fact that the victim did not fight back but the defendant beat him to the end, leading to his death, is an act of hooliganism. The first instance judgment against the defendant was appropriate, therefore the appellate court rejected the defendant's appeal. The 10-year prison sentence for Mac Van Lieu for murder was upheld./.

Tran Vu