The guilty father cried in court while reading his daughter's letter.

Mystery in the rice bag

Married at an early age, Pham Dinh Hien, a resident of Do Luong town, Do Luong district, is 38 years old and is the father of two children, the eldest of whom is 17 years old. Over the years, his terminal illness has weakened his health. All the housework is done by his wife, who is the same age. Instead of doing honest work, one day Hien had the idea of ​​making money from selling fireworks and drugs.

Defendant Pham Dinh Hien cried at the trial. Photo: Tran Vu

Knowing that there were many sources of “goods” on the border, Hien contacted a driver who specialized in going to Laos to inquire about the situation. After receiving the phone number of a Laotian, Hien contacted and ordered firecrackers and drugs to sell during the Lunar New Year.

After negotiating the price, at around 7:00 p.m. on December 31, 2020, Pham Dinh Hien was given a bag of rice and a cardboard box by a strange young man. Checking inside the bag of rice, Hien found 10 packages of pink phien (priced at 20 million VND) with a total weight of 193.34 grams. Inside the cardboard box were many types of firecrackers with a weight of more than 66 kg.

After checking the goods, Hien immediately transported the bag of rice containing drugs and firecrackers to another house to hide. However, Pham Dinh Hien's actions were discovered and arrested by the authorities that night. This subject was prosecuted for 2 crimes of Drug trafficking andBuying and selling prohibited goods.

Pham Dinh Hien burst into tears when reading the letter his daughter sent. Photo: Tran Vu

Cried when reading daughter's letter

The husband was arrested before the New Year, leaving his wife devastated. On one hand, she had to manage the family, take care of the children, and on the other hand, visit and send medicine to her husband. However, recently, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, visitation has been limited.

On the day of the trial of defendant Pham Dinh Hien for the two crimes of illegal drug trafficking and illegal trading of prohibited goods, the wife only brought her 5-year-old child to court. For unknown reasons, the eldest daughter did not come to court, but she sent her father a letter asking her mother to give to him.

The letter, nearly 2 pages long, was sent by the daughter to her father with messages and inquiries. "Dad, are you well in there?" At the same time, she bragged to her father about the results of the past school year. The 17-year-old girl also told her father about the lives of her and her children at home, about her youngest sibling who was about to enter first grade, promised her father to study well, obey her mother... At the same time, she told her father to take care of his health and reform well in prison.

Reading the letter from her daughter during the court's deliberation, Hien bowed her head, her eyes red. Tears fell onto the page, blurring some of the words. Hien turned her face down and wiped her tears away with her hand. The defendant apologized to her family in a choked voice. Seeing her husband in such a difficult situation, his wife encouraged him as tears continued to flow.

The wife encouraged her husband before being led away. Photo: Tran Vu

In her emotions, this woman said that her eldest daughter understood what happened to her father, which made her heart even heavier. She could only encourage and care for her daughter to stabilize her mind and not think negatively...

After the trial, the panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant had a number of mitigating circumstances such as: providing information to the police to arrest the gambler, and his parents were people with revolutionary contributions... Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the panel sentenced defendant Pham Dinh Hien to 17 years in prison for "Buying and selling drugs" and 2 years in prison for "Buying and selling prohibited goods", the total sentence for the defendant was 19 years in prison.

Before her husband was led out, his wife tried to stay calm and said, “Try to reform yourself…” However, as soon as her husband was led out of the courtroom, she sat down and cried helplessly. It wasn’t until her 5-year-old son ran in and called for his mother that she wiped away her tears and led him out.

Drugs and illegal goods have destroyed many families. The remorse of defendant Hien when reading his daughter’s letter in court is a valuable lesson for those who intend to get rich from this illegal substance.

Tran Vu