The troubled past of the man who committed murder twice.
(Baonghean.vn) - At 29 years old, Ta Quang Hong has been imprisoned twice for different crimes, including murder. Due to drug addiction, Hong was sent to compulsory rehabilitation centers twice. During his rehabilitation, Hong committed another heinous crime while at the center.
The drug addict's criminal record.
Ta Quang Hong (born in 1994), residing in Quan Bau ward, Vinh City, is the youngest of two brothers. His father passed away, and Hong lived with his mother, but his time with her was constantly interrupted as he quickly spiraled into wrongdoing. After finishing 6th grade, Hong dropped out of school and followed bad company.
In 2011, at the age of 15, Ta Quang Hong committed a fraud and was sentenced to 9 months in prison, but given a suspended sentence. Because Hong was not yet of legal age at the time, his mother had to compensate the victim 7.5 million VND. However, to date, the defendant's relatives have not yet fulfilled the compensation as ordered by the court.
Three years later, Hong was involved in another sensational murder case. It was at the end of 2013, when a fight broke out between two groups of kumquat and peach vendors over a kumquat fruit accidentally picked by a young girl, resulting in one death. Hong was identified as having participated in the incident and was sentenced to seven years in prison for murder. While the criminal sentence has been served, Hong has yet to fulfill her obligation to pay compensation.
After being released from prison, lacking education and skills, Hong continued to follow his "gangsters" to make a living and became addicted to drugs. In 2019, Hong was admitted to a drug rehabilitation center by decision of the Vinh City People's Court, with a mandatory rehabilitation period of 18 months.
Shortly after completing his mandatory rehabilitation program, this young man relapsed. Therefore, Ta Quang Hong was sent to a mandatory rehabilitation center for the second time, starting on September 22, 2021.
During this rehabilitation program, Hong was selected by the center to work as an assistant in the treatment and rehabilitation room. However, about 10 months into her rehabilitation, she committed a murder, resulting in the death of a man who had only been admitted to the facility for one day. Upon investigation, authorities determined that Hong's actions were the cause of death.
Committing a crime at a drug rehabilitation center.
Accordingly, on the afternoon of July 7, 2022, Mr. Le Minh S. (born in 1967), residing in Vinh City, was taken to a voluntary drug rehabilitation center in Vinh City. There, Mr. S. underwent a drug test. Because he was unable to urinate and was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, Hong and another trainee took him to shower.
During the urine sample collection process, Mr. S. was still unable to urinate, so Hong slapped him in the face and kicked him in the stomach and chest. Afterward, despite his efforts, the man still couldn't provide a urine sample, further enraging Hong, who then continued to hit Mr. S. in the back.
By 5 PM that same day, Mr. S. was still unable to urinate due to cystitis, so Hong assaulted him. When the officers took Mr. S. to collect a urine sample, he suddenly threw himself against a wall and a tree trunk in an attempt to commit suicide, but was prevented by others. Afterwards, the officers documented the incident.
That evening, Mr. S. agreed to have his urine sample taken for testing. The results showed he tested positive for drugs. At 9 PM that same day, noticing Mr. S.'s deteriorating health, the rehabilitation center took him to the hospital for emergency treatment, but he had already died. As for the perpetrator, Ta Quang Hong was arrested by the police the following day.
At the trial, the defendant admitted to the crime but claimed he did not intentionally kill the victim. He stated that because Mr. S. was unable to urinate and was experiencing withdrawal symptoms, Hong took him to bathe to help him overcome his addiction. During the bath, the man defecated on the spot, which angered the defendant. Unable to control himself, the defendant punched and kicked the victim, then cleaned up and bathed him again.
Later that evening, because the victim refused to shackle his own feet and was unable to urinate, the defendant beat him a third time. After three beatings, the victim died from multiple broken ribs and sternum, a ruptured spleen causing respiratory and circulatory failure.
Following the incident, the Vinh City Voluntary Rehabilitation Center provided 150 million VND in civil compensation to the victim's family. The victim's family representative did not request any further civil compensation.
The court determined that the defendant's unlawful actions caused the victim's death and negatively impacted social order. Therefore, a strict punishment was necessary to both educate the defendant to become a good citizen and to serve as a general deterrent. However, some mitigating circumstances such as honest confession and remorse should also be considered. After considering all aspects of the case, the court sentenced defendant Ta Quang Hong to 19 years in prison for murder.