The torment of a father who committed a serious crime to defend his son
Hearing that her son was beaten by a disabled young man, Hanh was angry and intended to threaten the man to scare him. However, when they met, Hanh, with a gun in her hand, pulled the trigger, causing the young man to die. Having committed murder, the young father of two children showed great remorse for his moment of anger that cost him dearly.
Murder from children's conflict
Courtroom No. 1, Nghe An Provincial People's Court, on a hot day in late May, many people attended. They were relatives and neighbors of the victim and the defendant in the fatal shooting case. The fact that the two sides were neighbors and had a family relationship made the pain of those left behind even greater.
The murder case in which Cao Dang Hanh (born 1986), residing in Minh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district (Nghe An) was the defendant occurred at the end of 2023, stemming from a conflict between children. Just because of a moment of anger, Hanh took the life of Nguyen Tat A. (born 1997, residing in the same commune).
According to the case file, on December 25, 2023, while going bird shooting, Cao Dang Hanh bought two guns (air guns that shoot lead bullets) from a passerby (unknown origin and address) for 7 million VND and was given 14 lead bullets by this person.
The next afternoon, Hanh brought a gun to a neighbor's house to fill the air tank of the gun to go bird hunting, and the homeowner invited her to drink wine. After eating and drinking, Hanh took the gun and prepared to go bird hunting, but Ho Gia Huy (born 2010) asked to go with her.
When the two had walked about 500 meters, Hanh received a phone call from her son, telling him that Nguyen Tat A. had just hit her on the head. Knowing that A. was disabled, he told his son: "Don't take it personally, I'll hit you later."
A moment later, while Hanh was walking, she saw Nguyen Tat A. standing on the street herding cows, so she stopped her car. At this time, Hanh held a gun, pointed the barrel at A., and asked why he hit her son. Although A. answered "because I was teasing him," Hanh continued to ask the same question three times. At this time, Huy stood nearby and laughed, but A. punched him. Hanh threatened him, then raised the gun, pointed the barrel at A.'s neck, and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit A.'s neck, causing him to fall to the ground.
Seeing that, Hanh ran to use both hands to squeeze the wound to get the bullet out but could not get it out, the bleeding increased. Hanh told Huy to take the gun home to hide. After that, Hanh asked someone to take Mr. A. to the emergency room. However, due to the seriousness of the wound, Mr. A. died a few days later. The authorities concluded, "The cause of Mr. Nguyen Tat A.'s death was edema, contusion and necrosis of the cervical spinal cord and cerebral edema due to the bullet."
With the above actions, Cao Dang Hanh was prosecuted and brought to trial for murder. At the trial, the defendant confessed honestly, admitting all the crimes. The defendant said that because he was upset because he heard that his young son was beaten by Mr. A. and witnessed Huy being punched, he lost control of his behavior.
In response to the jury's question, knowing that Mr. A. was disabled, the defendant himself had previously told his son "don't take it personally" but why did he use a gun to shoot in a dangerous area, the defendant could not answer the above question but bowed his head and mumbled, admitting to the crime.
Regarding the gun that the defendant used to commit the crime, the defendant stated that he had just bought it to go bird shooting. The day before the incident, the defendant had taken the gun to his garden to practice aiming. Hanh could not explain why he pulled the trigger that day, causing the victim’s death.
The pain of the victim's family
In the presence of the victim’s parents at the trial, the defendant bowed his head and apologized to the family: “The defendant knows he has made a big mistake, please forgive the victim’s family and give him a chance to return home soon. The defendant feels very remorseful and remorseful.” After the incident, the defendant paid all hospital expenses for the victim and pressured the family to pay a total compensation of more than 200 million VND.
Attending the trial as the victim's representative, the parents' faces showed their heartache when their son's death was mentioned again. Mr. A. was their only son. Although he was disabled, his parents always loved him. The victim himself had to leave school early because of his disability. In return, A. was very diligent, often helping his family herd buffalo and cows. On the day of the incident, Mr. A. was also leading buffalo and cows to graze in the field. Just because of a small conflict, he passed away, leaving great pain for his family.
Despite the grief over the loss of their child, the victim’s family still asked for a reduced sentence for the defendant at the trial. Receiving the victim’s family’s forgiveness, the defendant bowed his head and apologized, hoping the court would consider reducing his sentence so he could return to his normal life and take care of his two young children who were still in school.
The panel of judges determined that the actions of the defendant Cao Dang Hanh were particularly serious, taking the life of a disabled person because of a petty conflict and a childish joke, so a severe sentence was needed for general deterrence and prevention. In particular, the defendant raised a gun three times to threaten the victim, demonstrating his arrogance and disregard for the law.
However, during the investigation as well as at the trial, the defendant confessed honestly, showed remorse, and his family had contributed to the revolution. After the incident, the defendant influenced his family to compensate the victim's family. Considering the case as a whole, the panel sentenced defendant Cao Dang Hanh to 18 years in prison for "Murder", higher than the previous sentence proposed by the representative of the Provincial People's Procuracy.
Regarding the act of possessing a gun, the authorities determined that because Hanh had not been administratively punished or convicted of this act, it was not serious enough to warrant criminal prosecution. The authorities administratively punished Hanh for the above act.
It can be seen that, just because of a moment of anger, Hanh caused the death of her neighbor and got herself into trouble with the law. Although the defendant regrets and is tormented by his wrongdoings, it is now too late. Because, the defendant’s actions have left too much pain for the victim’s family. Because from now on, the victim’s family will never see the shadow of the child they loved so much again…
Through this incident, it is not only a lesson for defendant Hanh, even though it is too late, but also a lesson for those who are still impatient and do not consider and reflect on each incident to have a proper solution, then there will come a time when they will have to regret and pay a heavy price!