Increased sentence for man who hacked sister-in-law to death, injuring nephew

Nguyen Van Duong (born in 1981, residing in Nghia Hung commune, Nghia Dan district) has an older brother named Nguyen Van Hop (born in 1971). During their time together, Mr. Hop and his wife, Ms. Vo Thi X. (born in 1976), often had irreconcilable disagreements.

In September 2018, Mr. Hop and Ms. X. separated, the couple's shared house was divided in half, each person using a room separated by a wooden cabinet. The common assets were also divided in half, except for the motorbike Mr. Hop often used as a means of transport, which was managed by Ms. X. Therefore, every time he went to work, Mr. Hop had to borrow his younger brother's motorbike.

On December 27, 2018, Duong went to work by bicycle. Tired and angry because Ms. X. used his brother's motorbike, this young man immediately had the idea of ​​taking a knife to Ms. X.'s house to resolve the conflict.

Defendant Nguyen Van Duong. Photo: Tran Vu

At about 7:30 p.m. on December 27, after dinner, Duong went down to the kitchen to get a knife and walked to Ms. X's house. When he got there, he saw the door closed and the lights were still on. Duong called out loudly but no one responded.

Because the door to Mr. Hop's room was still open, Duong went inside and jumped over the wooden cabinet separating the two rooms. At that time, Ms. X. and her daughter, Nguyen Thi N. (born 2003), were sitting playing on their phones. Duong approached and slashed Ms. X.'s head many times with a knife, causing the victim to collapse. Seeing her mother being slashed, N. ran over and covered her mother's head with her two hands, but was also slashed by Duong.

Duong went home, told his relatives everything, then went to the police station to confess. Due to severe injuries, Ms. Vo Thi X. died, and N. was taken to the hospital for treatment with a 41% disability.

Nguyen Van Duong was prosecuted for “Murder” and “Intentionally causing injury”. At the first instance criminal trial held by the People’s Court of Nghe An province in June 2019, the defendant Duong was sentenced to 20 years in prison for “Murder” and 7 years in prison for “Intentionally causing injury”. The total sentence that defendant Duong must serve is 27 years in prison.

The legal representative of the victim then filed an appeal against the entire first instance judgment and requested an increase in the criminal penalty and compensation.

The Hanoi High People's Court opened a criminal appeal hearing for Nguyen Van Duong. At the hearing, the victim's representative maintained the appeal. The victim's two children requested an increase in the sentence, mental damage compensation, and alimony. "Since our mother passed away, our lives have been miserable. We request that the court judge the right person and the right crime," one child said in court.

In court, Duong said that due to anger and a little alcohol in his system, he could not control his actions. The defendant asked for a lower sentence so that he could have the opportunity to take care of his elderly mother.

The Court of Appeal determined that the defendant’s murder was a hooligan act, deliberately committing the crime to the end. Therefore, the court partially accepted the appeal of the victim’s representative, increased the sentence from 20 years to life in prison for “Murder” and upheld the original sentence of 7 years in prison for “Intentionally causing injury”. The total sentence for the defendant Duong is life in prison. Regarding the civil part, the court upheld the compensation for mental damage and child support for the victim as in the first instance judgment.