Increased prison sentence for man who shot dead man over kumquat

(Baonghean.vn) - October 28, atat the Provincial People's Court,The Supreme People's Court of Appeal held a trial of the case of Tran Van Do (born in 1990, residing in Hung Hoa commune, Vinh city) and his accomplices for murder, disturbing public order and illegal possession of military weapons.

According to the conclusion of the first instance verdict, on the evening of February 6, 2013 (ie the 27th day of the Lunar New Year of Quy Ty), Ha carried a little girl to Nguyen Dinh Cuong's (29 years old, resident of Cua Nam ward, Vinh city) roadside kumquat tree shop to play. There, the girl picked a kumquat in Cuong's garden, causing a conflict and argument between the two. Cuong called his two accomplices to "deal with" Ha, so Ha had to run away towards Cua Tien bridge (Vinh city). About 5 minutes later, Ha returned to the kumquat tree shop with her friends about being chased and beaten by Cuong's group. At the same time, Cuong's group brought swords, pipes, and used a motorbike to attack, causing Ha and her friends to run away.

Defendant Do in court

At about 1:00 a.m. on February 7, 2013, Cuong's group brought weapons and rode 3 motorbikes in a row on the road towards Cua Tien bridge to attack Ha's group.

While the two groups were fighting, Tran Van Do (a member of Ha's group) used a gun that he had prepared beforehand to shoot Tran Van Thanh (21 years old, residing in Doi Cung ward, Vinh city) in the chest, causing Thanh to collapse and die on the way to the emergency room. Afterwards, the two groups, including 20 people, went to the police to surrender.

On the afternoon of May 30, 2014, the first-instance People's Court of Nghe An province sentenced Do to 13 years in prison for murder and one year in prison for illegal possession of military weapons. The defendants in this case were also sentenced to between 3 years and 6 months and 15 years in prison, and some defendants were given suspended sentences for the above crimes.

After the first instance trial, Do and 11 accomplices appealed for a reduction in their sentences and were appealed by the legal representative of the victim to the Supreme Court in order to increase the sentences for the defendants. Through the analysis of the presiding judge and the objective and comprehensive review of the case, the panel of judges concluded that the defendant Do committed an especially serious crime, was hooligan, and used a military gun as a weapon that could cause injury to many people, so the sentence imposed by the first instance court was somewhat light. Therefore, there was a basis to accept the victim's appeal and the panel of judges increased the sentence from 13 years to 16 years in prison for Tran Van Do for murder. Combined with the sentence of 1 year in prison for illegal possession of military equipment, Do was forced to serve a total sentence of 17 years in prison.

Khang Hoa