Unemployed, male worker 'ships' fateful shipment
(Baonghean.vn) - Leaving the Central region to work in the South, Viet and his wife wished for a stable life to raise their children. But then, during the time the company temporarily closed due to lack of work, the male worker agreed to transport drugs from the South to the North.
"Carrying" drugs for hire in exchange for 10 million VND in wages
During the entire time waiting for the court to start, two children, about 6 and 4 years old, stood lurking outside the hallway of the Nghe An Provincial People's Court. Occasionally, they would peek inside where their father was sitting and innocently call out, "Daddy, Daddy Viet." Those children were the children of Nguyen Van Viet (28 years old), residing in Cam Nhuong Commune, Cam Xuyen District (Ha Tinh) - the defendant brought to trial for "Illegal transportation of narcotics."
Hearing his children calling his name, the young father turned his head to look, his eyes filled with guilt. Those children were too young to understand why their father was handcuffed, why he had not come home for a long time. Even if one of the two children innocently said “Daddy is in jail” and played around, he probably did not realize it.
Inside the courtroom, Viet confessed honestly and clearly about his crimes. The defendant shared that while working in Dong Nai province as a worker for a garment company, he met a friend from his hometown.
Through the introduction of this friend from the same hometown, Viet agreed to transport 1 kg of drugs from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi for a man named Tai (unknown background and address) for a fee of 10 million VND. Before starting the journey, Viet received 3 million VND in advance. After that, he took a bus from the South to bring the "goods" to the North. On the way, Viet stopped by his house in Ha Tinh to visit his children for a day.
Urged to deliver the “goods” quickly, Viet quickly took a taxi to Hanoi that night. However, on the night of February 15, 2023, when Nguyen Van Viet had just entered Vinh City, he was discovered by the police and caught red-handed with evidence of 1 kg of drugs.
Viet stated in court that at the time he agreed to transport drugs, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, his work at the company was cut. During the time the company gave him a 2-week rotational leave, the defendant stayed in a rented room. Unemployed and wanting to have money to support his family and children, when he was hired to transport drugs for a salary of 10 million VND, the defendant agreed.
To keep his wife from discovering his wrongdoings, before his departure, Viet only told his wife that he was going back to his hometown for a friend’s wedding. On his journey to “ship” drugs, Viet took the opportunity to stop by his hometown to visit his children. His family and relatives were completely unaware of Viet’s wrongdoings until the news of Nguyen Van Viet’s arrest by the police was reported.
The pain of a young wife
Since her husband was arrested, the wife had to quit her job at the company to return to her hometown to take care of her children and visit her husband. Although she is 28 years old, her face shows the hardship and fatigue of a woman who has endured many hardships in life. Back home, because she does not have her own house, the three of them have to live with their grandparents. Her worries are therefore even greater.
Attending her husband’s trial, the woman could not stop shedding tears. She cried for her husband’s mistake, and at the same time worried about the future of her three children. Before deciding to come to Viet, she knew clearly about her lover’s criminal past. Because in 2012, Viet was sentenced to a total of 30 months in prison for two crimes: “Illegal arrest” and “Property destruction”. After getting married, Viet got involved with drugs and was sent to a compulsory drug rehabilitation facility for 12 months.
Despite her family’s objections, the young woman still accepted her husband’s tainted past. She only hoped that Viet would change for the sake of his wife, children, and family, and become a good husband and father. But in the end, what she received was bitterness and humiliation. The life sentence for her husband that the jury handed down made her feel like she was collapsing.
When she saw her husband being escorted out after the trial ended, she quickly grabbed her children’s hands and ran to where the covered truck was waiting for them to meet their father. Because it was past noon, the meeting was quick. When the covered truck rolled out of the court yard, she and her two children returned to Ha Tinh, exhausted. Raising two young children alone while having an unstable job was too much of a burden for that poor woman….
