The anguish of a mother whose son has appeared in court seven times.

Seventh time in prison

Just as he was old enough to be independent and hadn't yet repaid his parents, Nguyen Tat Thach burdened them with the burden of supporting him through his years in prison. In 1994, Nguyen Tat Thach was sentenced to 12 months in prison for two crimes: "Theft of citizens' property" and "Theft of socialist property." That same year, Thach was sentenced to another 15 months in prison for "Robbery of citizens' property."

From then on, Thach spiraled into wrongdoing, repeatedly going in and out of prison. In 1997, Thach was sentenced to 15 months in prison for "theft of citizens' property." Two years later, Thach committed the same crime again. The only difference was that this time, Thach received a harsher sentence of 6 years in prison.

In 2005, Nguyen Tat Thach was sentenced to 36 months in prison for "theft of property." Afterward, Thach did not violate the law, much to the relief of his family. However, their joy was short-lived, as in 2014, Thach was imprisoned for 3 months for "illegal detention." Shortly after his release, Thach was arrested again for "concealing a crime," leading his family to once more take him to court.

The suspects Phan Trong Son and Nguyen Tat Thach, along with the seized evidence. Photo: Binh Nguyen.

Regarding this crime, according to the case file, around the beginning of March 2022, Thach was invited by Phan Trong Son (born in 1964), residing in Hung Binh ward (Vinh City), to go to Cau Treo Border Gate (Ha Tinh province). However, Son's real purpose was to pick up drugs that he had previously contacted the seller about several times.

Specifically, Phan Trong Son (also known as Son Lun) has three previous convictions for drug-related offenses and was released from prison in mid-2021. He is a very cunning and devious individual. Using his pre-existing connections, Son established links with foreign individuals to find drug supplies. He then recruited accomplices to set up retail outlets, supplying drugs to addicts in the area. Son often rented multiple cars, used fake license plates, and surveyed the area several times before buying or selling drugs.

At 0:00 on March 6th, Son drove to near the Cau Treo border gate and went alone to retrieve drugs hidden in an electric pole. Around 2:00 AM the same day, when Son and Thach arrived in Vinh City, they were stopped by the police for inspection. Seeing this, Son reversed the car and told Thach, "Something's wrong, throw me the bag." Thach opened the car door, grabbed the bag of drugs, and tried to run away but was apprehended by the police. A search of Son's house also uncovered several more packages of drugs, which he confessed to buying to resell for profit.

Phan Trọng Sơn and Nguyễn Tất Thạch at the trial. Photo courtesy of Trần Vũ.

The investigating agency determined that in this case, Phan Trong Son is criminally liable for the illegal trafficking of over 5.8 kg of drugs. Nguyen Tat Thach, upon learning that Son was involved in drug trafficking and was asked to stop by the police, fled with the drugs to obstruct police detection, and is therefore liable for failing to report a crime.

A mother's pain

On October 6th, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal trial to hear the case against defendant Phan Trong Son (born in 1964), residing in Hung Binh ward (Vinh City), for the crime of "Illegal trafficking of narcotics"; and defendant Nguyen Tat Thach (born in 1977), residing in Ha Huy Tap ward (Vinh City), for the crime of "Failure to report a crime".

Before the witness stand, Nguyen Tat Thach sincerely confessed, showing remorse. The defendant stated that he was unaware of Son's drug trafficking activities. Thach claimed he only realized the bag Son received contained drugs when the police discovered and apprehended him. He also presented his difficult circumstances and young children to request leniency from the court.

After a comprehensive review of the case, the Panel of Judges found that in this case, the defendant Phan Trong Son was involved in buying and selling.drugDue to the exceptionally large amount of evidence, the court sentenced Phan Trong Son to death. Defendant Nguyen Tat Thach, convicted of "Failure to report a crime," was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

Defendant Nguyen Tat Thach was sentenced to 4 years in prison for the crime of "Failure to report a crime". Photo: Tran Vu

Among the crowd at the Nghe An Provincial People's Court, the sight of a gray-haired woman, limping with difficulty into the courtroom, drew much attention. Mrs. Nguyen Thi N. is the mother of Nguyen Tat Thach. Thach, despite knowing that Phan Trong Son was involved in the trafficking of a large quantity of drugs, concealed this information, hindering the investigation.

Throughout the court proceedings, Mrs. N. sat silently. Occasionally, she would raise her calloused hand to wipe her face. At times, the 76-year-old mother would rest her head on the chair, her face weary. She explained that her husband was ill and had a hunched back, preventing him from attending court today to see their son. Despite her own fatigue, she had arranged for someone to drive her to the Provincial Court.

Pointing to her thigh, she explained that this was the reason she had difficulty walking. Previously, an accident had injured her leg, affecting her health. Despite this, she still tried her best to work and provide for her second son, Nguyen Tat Thach.

Ms. Nguyen Thi N. sends a message to her son. Photo courtesy of Tran Vu.

Listening to her son's story, Mrs. N., sitting below, lowered her head. She explained that since Thach was arrested for the seventh time, his wife had gone away to work and hadn't returned to care for their child. "Occasionally, my daughter-in-law asks relatives to bring the child home for a few days, but she doesn't come to live with us. My son is in prison, my daughter-in-law left, so now my husband and I have to raise our grandchild. We don't know what the future holds for our grandchild, now that we're both old, with our meager salaries barely enough to buy medicine and pay for the child's education…," Mrs. N. sighed.

When mentioning her son, who has been in and out of prison many times, Mrs. N. shook her head. She had repeatedly advised him to settle down, work hard, and not break the law, but to no avail. She recounted that one year, on the first day of Tet (Lunar New Year), she sat down to talk with her son, begging him to stop his reckless behavior and breaking the law. But all she received in return were further sentences from the law for her "unruly" son.

As her son appeared in court for the seventh time, the elderly mother struggled to approach him to offer words of advice. Her weak voice was lost in the vast courtroom.

The trial ended, and Mrs. N. and everyone else left the courtroom with difficulty. Surely, at this moment, her worries weren't just about her grandson's future, but more importantly, whether Thach would realize his mistakes and turn over a new leaf, or repeat his past crimes, and whether she and her husband would have the strength to wait for their son's return… Hopefully, Nguyen Tat Thach will sense these anxieties and strive to correct his mistakes, even if it's late!

Dang Nguyen - Tran Vu