Wife 'follows' husband to jail after going to collect debt
After her husband went to prison, Hoang Thi Ha raised her two children alone by working as a beautician. The job provided Ha with income and social connections. But it was also from those connections that this young woman fell into trouble after agreeing to let a man pay off his debt with drugs.
Husband just went to jail, wife follows
With white skin, tall figure and delicate face, few people know that defendant Hoang Thi Ha (born in 1995), residing in Nghi Kieu commune, Nghi Loc district, is the mother of two children. While two accomplices Tran Van Duong (born in 1993), residing in Long Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district and Hoang Van Duc (born in 1995), residing in Nghi Kieu commune, had many relatives present, Ha was alone on the day the Provincial People's Court brought her to trial for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.
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Partly because the female defendant’s family is short of staff, and partly because Ha’s husband is currently serving a prison sentence. According to Ha, more than a year ago, her husband was sentenced to 4 years in prison for theft. While her husband was serving his sentence, Ha visited him and encouraged him to reform and return to his wife and children soon. But now, Ha is the one following her husband to prison.
The reason that pushed this young woman into the wrong path was when she met a man named Dung, from Quang Tri. While doing cosmetic surgery for a customer, Ha met Dung and then lent him 30 million VND.
When the deadline came but Dung had not paid, Hoang Thi Ha took a bus to Quang Tri to collect the debt. When they met, Dung said he did not have the money to pay and suggested giving Ha 5 packages of pink drugs to clear the debt. Ha agreed to accept the 5 packages of drugs and took a bus back to her hometown. After that, Ha hid the drugs on the edge of the rice field, waiting for the opportunity to sell them.
On May 25, 2024, Hoang Van Duc contacted Ha to buy drugs. At that time, Ha said he had 5 packages of pink phien, selling for 28 million VND. At noon of the same day, at the foot of the overpass intersection between Nghi Trung commune and Nghi Long commune, Nghi Loc district, Ha sold more than 93 grams of drugs to Duc.
Duc sold the purchased drugs to Tran Van Duong for 30 million VND. Duong then divided them into smaller pieces to sell to customers for 500,000 VND. When Tran Van Duong was about to sell 10 pills, he was arrested by Yen Thanh District Police. Searching Duong's residence, the police seized the remaining drugs.
Expanding the investigation, on September 27, 2024, the police arrested Hoang Van Duc. As for Hoang Thi Ha, on November 6, 2024, the police arrested her in an emergency.
At the trial, the defendants admitted their crimes. The two defendants Duc and Duong confessed that they had traded drugs for profit. Duc earned 2 million VND.
When questioned, defendant Ha stated that she did not intend to sell drugs. However, because the debtor asked to pay off the debt with packages of drugs, the defendant agreed. The female defendant expressed remorse for her wrongdoings.
Regret, fear of spoiled children
At the trial, when mentioning her two children, aged 11 and 5, Ha choked up. The female defendant stated that she missed her children very much during her detention. Therefore, she was looking forward to the day of trial to see her children after a long time apart. However, her relatives and children were not present that day.
The future and education of the children are also the concerns of the female defendant. Ha presented to the jury that her actions were wrong but asked the court to consider reducing her sentence. Her husband is currently in prison, and now she is about to go to prison, she is afraid that her children will be spoiled without an adult to supervise and teach them.
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During the short time the court had to deliberate, Ha confided her difficult situation. Because her paternal grandparents had passed away, her maternal grandfather had a stroke, and her maternal grandmother was in poor health, her two young children were now being cared for by her sister-in-law.
“I was wrong because I did not learn from my husband’s example. I failed to fulfill my duties as a mother, did something wrong and ended up in jail, leaving my children helpless. The price I have to pay is too high,” Ha choked up, regretting her mistake and worrying about her children’s future.
The female defendant’s remorse and regret came too late when defendant Hoang Thi Ha was sentenced to 18 years in prison. That was also the sentence given to the other two defendants in the case, Tran Van Duong and Hoang Van Duc, for the crime of illegal drug trafficking.
The court ended, the female defendant repeatedly turned back to look for her children one last time but could not find them. Following her husband into the prison gate, the future of her young children became uncertain.