The heartbreaking confession of a mother whose son is sliding down a path of mistakes
(Baonghean.vn) - Since the mother got a serious illness and had to undergo long-term treatment, her son, who was usually a good and studious person, has been playing games. Since then, the son has been in and out of prison. Now, at an advanced age and in poor health, she still has to work to take care of her son in prison and her sick grandchild.
Sliding into prison because of gambling addiction
The appeal trial of the two defendants Phan Cuong (35 years old) and Nguyen The Cuong (36 years old), both residing in Vinh City, for the crimes of “Gambling” and “Organizing Gambling” took place quite quickly when neither of them presented any new details to request a reduction in their sentences. However, the image of a woman with gray hair sitting intently on the screen looking at her son at the online trial moved many people. She is the mother of defendant Nguyen The Cuong.
Mrs. Pham Thi L. can no longer remember how many times she has followed her son to court. For more than ten years, her son has been committing one crime after another.
Talking about her son's long decline, the mother confided that when Cuong was in 11th grade, she discovered that she had cancer. After that, she had to go to Hanoi for long-term treatment. Relatives felt sorry for their nephew who had to be away from his mother and wanted to reward Cuong for his good studies, so they gave him money. With money, Cuong fell into gaming. "From a good student who passed the entrance exam to a top high school in Vinh City, in 12th grade he became addicted to gaming. Then came the times he went to jail and got into trouble," Mrs. L. sadly said about her son's long decline.
In 2006, after being involved in a robbery, Nguyen The Cuong was sentenced to 12 months in prison. Three years later, Cuong was sentenced to 24 months in prison for Intentional Infliction of Bodily Harm. In 2011, Cuong participated in gambling and was administratively punished.
Nguyen The Cuong's record of bad behavior did not stop when 3 years later, he went to Ha Tinh to organize gambling and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. After gambling, Cuong was sentenced to 4 years in prison for the crime ofIllegal possession of drugsIn addition, this young man was also administratively punished for the crime of Intentional Infliction of Injury.
The fact that her son was sent to prison one after another made a mother like Mrs. L. cry her eyes out. She confided that she had tried many times to advise and teach Cuong, but he still did the same thing.
Not only is she sad about her son being in prison, but for many years now, Mrs. L. has had to take care of her grandchild on behalf of Cuong and his wife. According to her, when the child was only 2 months old, Cuong and his wife divorced. The daughter-in-law did not raise the child, so since then she has been both father and mother taking care of her grandchild. The fact that her grandchild has a blood disease and has to go to a big hospital every month for checkups and medicine, which costs nearly ten million VND, has made her even more miserable. "I decided to sell the house to save my grandchild, just hoping that Cuong would change and reform," she choked up when talking about her sick grandchild.
The sick mother once again suppressed her pain
But her and her disabled husband's wishes seem far-fetched when Cuong recently joined gambling again. According to the indictment, around mid-2022, through his friend Phan Cuong, Nguyen The Cuong joined the club (called a game room) "HEAVEN 37". When participating, gamblers bought Chips (a form of money used for gambling) to play.
On March 1, 2022, Phan Cuong bought many Chips (equivalent to more than 22 million VND) for gambling. On August 2, 2022, Phan Cuong sold 1,000 Chips (equivalent to 25 million VND) to Nguyen The Cuong to gamble in the club.
Phan Cuong and the agents and members agreed to pay the money in 10 days, but before the date came, he was arrested by the police. On August 9, 2022, Nguyen The Cuong went to the police to surrender for gambling.
During the investigation, Phan Cuong showed signs of mental illness, so the police investigation agency requested a psychiatric assessment, concluding that before, during and after committing the crime and at the time of assessment, Cuong had unspecified schizophrenia.
For the two crimes of Gambling and Organizing Gambling, the court of first instance sentenced Phan Cuong to 6 years in prison; defendant Nguyen The Cuong was sentenced to 4 years in prison for Gambling and an additional fine of 10 million VND.
Both of them then appealed for a lighter sentence. At the appeal hearing, the two defendants did not present any new details compared to the first instance court. Nguyen The Cuong provided his son's medical records and explained his difficult circumstances and his parents' illness to ask for a lighter sentence.
The appellate court determined that the two defendants’ actions of using the Internet to participate in gambling in the form of online games with prizes in cash constituted the crime of gambling. In addition, Phan Cuong also used an unauthorized online gambling website to organize gambling.
At this trial, because the two defendants did not present new details compared to the first instance court, the appellate court rejected the appeal of the two defendants, upholding the sentence of 6 years in prison for 2 crimes against Phan Cuong and 4 years in prison for defendant Nguyen The Cuong.
The disobedient child was sent to prison again, causing Mrs. L. to quietly leave under the scorching sun. Surely, in the detention camp, Nguyen The Cuong could not witness the image of his mother with gray hair sadly leaving the courtroom in a state of confusion...
