The thief used a hammer to attack the female homeowner.

On September 24, Sinh was sentenced to 16 years in prison by the People's Court of Da Nang City for the crime of "Killing"; 3 years in prison for the crime of ""Robbery"; forced to compensate 100 million VND to the victim.

Sinh is a Red Dao ethnic group in Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province. In April 2021, Sinh went to Da Nang to work as a construction worker and met Mrs. Tam (55 years old), whose house was near where he rented a room (Quan Nam 3 village, Hoa Lien commune, Hoa Vang district).

By mid-September 2021, because the employer did not pay him, Sinh quit his job and became unemployed. With no money and no place to stay, Sinh wandered around and had to sleep in an unfinished sewer pipe at night.

Defendant Sinh in court. Photo:Nam Em

The indictment stated that on the evening of October 6, 2021, Sinh discovered that Mrs. Tam had left the house, so he climbed over the back fence and broke into the house with the intention of stealing but could not find anything. At this time, Mrs. Tam returned home.

Sinh hid in the back room of the house near the pigsty. Seeing Mrs. Tam walking towards him with a wooden stick in her hand, he picked up a hammer from the toolbox in his hiding place and rushed out to hit her in the back of the neck. Seeing the victim fall to the floor and scream, Sinh continued to hit her in the face with the hammer 3-4 times until Mrs. Tam was bleeding profusely, fell to the floor and passed out before stopping.

Sinh then snatched the black Nokia 105 phone from Mrs. Tam's hand, climbed over the fence behind the house and ran up the mountain to hide. Mrs. Tam was taken to the emergency room by the people in time, her life was saved but she suffered 71% injuries.

In court, Sinh said that because life was too hard, he had the idea of ​​stealing to survive, waiting to receive his salary from his employer before returning to his hometown. When he entered Mrs. Tam's house, he only wanted to steal. Afraid of being discovered, he knocked her unconscious to escape.

According to Sinh, for nearly 20 days he lived in hiding in the forest until he was arrested. He ate wild fruits and drank stream water to survive. The phone he had taken from Mrs. Tam was left in the forest after running out of battery.

Sinh was once sentenced to 2 years in prison by Lao Cai City People's Court for the crime of ""Theft of property", his criminal record has not been cleared. During the investigation and trial, Sinh confessed honestly and repented.