The remorse of the nephew who "accidentally" took his uncle's life.
After a night of heavy drinking on the full moon, Nguyen Van Chinh became intoxicated and had an argument with his wife. Hearing the commotion, his uncle intervened but was fatally stabbed by Chinh…
Murder on the Full Moon Night
The first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Van Chinh (born in 1984, residing in Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district, Nghe An province) for the crime of "murder" took place in mid-July 2024 and was attended by a large number of people. They were mostly relatives and family members; despite the large crowd, the atmosphere remained quiet and orderly. The defendant in this case was the clan leader, while the victim was Mr. Nguyen Van H. (born in 1959, the defendant's uncle).
The case details show that on February 24th, a ceremony for the full moon of the first lunar month was held in Nguyen Van Chinh's yard. After a drinking session, everyone was tipsy, except for Nguyen Van Chinh, who could barely walk. As the party neared its end, some people left, and Chinh's wife was cleaning up and washing dishes at the well. At this time, Chinh and several others, including Mr. Nguyen Van H., were still drinking in the yard. At 0:15 AM on February 25th, Chinh went to the well area to relieve himself. Due to drinking too much, Chinh was unsteady on his feet and slipped and fell. Seeing this, Chinh's wife, who was washing dishes nearby, scolded her husband. A quarrel then ensued between the couple.
Hearing loud noises near the well, one of the family members rushed out to intervene, trying to pull Chinh inside, but failed. Instead of obeying, Chinh grabbed a freshly washed sharp knife from the dish rack and threatened to stab the person, but the person was too scared and ran away, so the knife was not hit.
It seemed the situation would calm down, but upon hearing the commotion, Mr. Nguyen Van H. also ran out to intervene. Chinh waved his hand, telling his uncle to go back inside and continue drinking, and that they would handle everything. As a father and uncle, Mr. H. told Chinh, "If you don't listen to me, don't blame me, I'll beat you up." Immediately after saying this, Mr. H. punched Chinh in the head as a warning. A struggle ensued between the two. Because Chinh was holding a knife, he stabbed his uncle in the stomach. The victim stumbled a few steps before collapsing to the ground.
Immediately afterward, some people present took Mr. H. to the hospital for emergency treatment. However, due to the severity of his injuries, Mr. H. passed away. The cause of death was determined to be acute circulatory failure due to a penetrating abdominal wound that severed the rectal vein and perforated the small intestine.
After stabbing his uncle, Chinh was taken inside to rest. On the morning of February 25th, after sobering up, Nguyen Van Chinh went to the hospital to visit the victim. Upon learning that the victim was in critical condition, Chinh surrendered to the Vo Liet Commune Police and handed over the knife used in the crime.
Late regrets
Standing before the witness stand, defendant Nguyen Van Chinh admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. While answering the judge's questions, the defendant bowed his head, showing remorse. He admitted that he had drunk too much alcohol on the day of the incident, causing him to lose control of himself and leading to serious consequences. Furthermore, he claimed he couldn't specifically remember his actions, explaining that "he was drunk and couldn't remember clearly."
According to the defendant Chinh, there had never been any conflict between the two of them before; everything that happened was spontaneous. Furthermore, the sharp knife was something he hastily grabbed from a basket of dishes near the well where his wife was cleaning, and there was no prior preparation involved.
Because the defendant and the victim had a close relationship, the victim's family did not make any demands for material gain since the incident occurred. Even when Nguyen Van Chinh persuaded his wife to bring 20 million VND to the victim's family, they refused to accept it. According to the prosecutor, only after being persuaded by investigators did the victim's family agree to accept the money.
At the trial, the victim's family representative did not request a specific amount of compensation, but only asked that the trial be conducted according to the law and that compensation be provided based on the degree of responsibility of the defendant's family.
The victim's legal representative submitted a request for leniency for the defendant. At the same time, during the trial, the victim's family also requested the court to consider reducing the defendant's sentence so that he could return home to his family sooner.
When given the opportunity to apologize, Nguyen Van Chinh turned to the victim's family, where the victim's wife and children were seated. "Until now, I've never had any conflict with you, Uncle. I had no intention of harming you, but I was drunk that day and it happened. I apologize to you, Auntie, to the children, and to the entire family, and I hope everyone will forgive my mistake," Chinh said, clasping his hands together. Although the apology came late, these heartfelt words from the nephew somewhat eased the pain of the victim's family.
At the trial, the defendant Chinh asked the court to consider mitigating circumstances and reduce his sentence so that he could return to his family and raise his children with his wife. Chinh also promised to compensate the victim with 100 million VND as agreed upon by both parties.
The court determined that the defendant's actions were exceptionally dangerous to society, directly infringing upon human life, and therefore required severe punishment. However, several mitigating circumstances should also be considered. The defendant has a good character, voluntarily surrendered after the incident, made a sincere confession, and influenced his family to mitigate the consequences. Although the victim's family did not demand anything further, the defendant acted out of conscience and responsibility by influencing his family to mitigate the consequences. In this case, the victim also bears some responsibility.
After considering all aspects of the case, the court sentenced the defendant Nguyen Van Chinh to 16 years in prison for murder. Regarding civil matters, the defendant was ordered to pay the remaining compensation to the victim's family.
The trial concluded, and Nguyen Van Chinh paid the price for his actions. However, this also served as a costly lesson for the defendant about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption and the inability to control one's behavior. By the time he felt remorse and regret, it was too late…