This year is the 20th anniversary of the talented but ill-fated actor's death, but many people are still curious about the details of his death.

Referring to actor Le Cong Tuan Anh, forensic doctor Nguyen Thanh Tuyen affirmed that the pressure to find the cause of the “star’s” death still lingered. In front of a crowd of fans and the press, he emotionally concluded that the actor at the peak of his career had committed suicide by overdose.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the death of the talented actor Le Cong Tuan Anh. After all these years, the fame and talent of a star may have been forgotten, but the regretful “departure” of that talented but ill-fated man still exists in the hearts of many people.

Talented but ill-fated

Actor Le Cong Tuan Anh (1967-1996) is originally from Hue, born and raised in Saigon. At the age of 10, he witnessed his parents' broken marriage. When his father passed away and his mother remarried, he began a wandering life, selling newspapers, shining shoes... to earn a living. At the age of 12, Le Cong Tuan Anh was sent to Juvenile Education School 3. From there, he studied culture and learned a trade under the care of "Mrs. Phuoc". With a gentle personality, the young man was loved by the teachers and was allowed to help in the school's medical room. The teacher only had to say it once, and he was able to remember the name and uses of the medicine.

A few years later, Le Cong Tuan Anh was taken in by his aunt, Ms. Le Thi Ngoan (now unknown) and raised at her home on Huynh Tinh Cua Street (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). Despite his poor family background, his aunt still took care of him and sent him to school. Thanks to that, his artistic talent had the opportunity to manifest and was guided by teacher Le Binh. While performing as an assistant for his friend Mong Diep, he was discovered by female artist Kim Cuong and accepted as a student. However, he only truly shone when he took on the role of Dr. Quang "Don Quixote" in the film The Bitter Taste of Love directed by Le Xuan Hoang. After just one night, the name Le Cong Tuan Anh became famous throughout the country, becoming a phenomenon in the film industry.

Late actor Le Cong Tuan Anh.

20 years have passed, old people and stories have faded, some people want to mention them, some want to forget them. However, the sudden departure of the talented actor is still being made up by many people with many different stories. It is rumored that his love triangle was the reason that forced the actor to seek death. Therefore, in 1996, when he was at the peak of his career, the public was shocked to hear that Le Cong Tuan Anh had committed suicide because of love.

From a professional perspective, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen (HCMC Forensic Center), who received and conducted the forensic examination of the actor, recalled: “In 1996, I was assigned to perform a forensic examination of actor Le Cong Tuan Anh to find the cause of death. Before that, the person staying in the same boarding house took him to the emergency room at Trung Vuong Hospital. Reporting to the investigation agency, he said that at around 1:00 p.m. on October 17, 1996, he saw Le Cong Tuan Anh's head bleeding, thinking that the actor had fallen from the bed and was injured, so he rushed him to the emergency room.”

“Suspecting that the patient had suffered a traumatic brain injury, Trung Vuong Hospital transferred him to Hospital 115 for better treatment. However, doctors at Hospital 115 discovered a sample of modern medicine in the patient’s vomit, so they suspected that he had used the medicine to commit suicide. Early in the morning of October 18, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Investigation conducted an investigation into the death of Le Cong Tuan Anh. At the same time, a forensic team including representatives of the Procuracy, the Investigation Police, the District 10 Police, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department of Criminal Science and I, the Chief Examiner of the Ho Chi Minh City Forensic Organization, also went to Hospital 115 to conduct an autopsy,” said Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen.

Sad ending

According to Dr. Tuyen, when he conducted the autopsy, many fans and reporters were present at Hospital 115. Although he participated in the autopsy of many cases, he could not avoid confusion and pressure when so many people gathered to wait for the results. Faced with many rumors that Le Cong Tuan Anh was murdered, he meticulously examined every detail on his body. “There were no significant external wounds on the actor's body that could have caused his death. Therefore, all my initial speculations were based on the hypothesis that Le Cong Tuan Anh committed suicide by taking medicine. In addition, the actor's relatives also provided information about discovering a bottle of Quinine Sulfate 250mg, a special medicine for treating malaria, scattered on the floor of the rented house. Using professional measures, I determined that the deadly substance matched the ingredients of the anti-malaria medicine at the scene,” said Dr. Tuyen.

Before making a conclusion, the investigation agency as well as Dr. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen went to Le Cong Tuan Anh's rented house to conduct an examination. “The small house is located deep in an alley on To Hien Thanh Street. I also did not think that a famous actor would have a life of poverty beyond imagination. I remember that there were no valuable items in the house except for a television, a video player, a cassette player and two old table fans. The house did not have a wardrobe so clothes had to be hung on the wall, and there was no bed. Here, the investigation agency and I discovered some finished or half-finished medicine packs, and some letters scattered on the floor,” Dr. Tuyen recalled.

Then he continued: “I discovered the suicide note left by Le Cong Tuan Anh. At this point, we have the basis to conclude the cause of death of the talented actor that year. Regarding the content of the letter, I will not mention it again. At the time we announced the conclusion of the investigation and examination, the actor's relatives, friends, and fans burst into tears. Everyone mourned the foolishness and misery of a talented actor who sought death in despair.”

Reporters visited Le Cong Tuan Anh's grave on a quiet afternoon at the Nghe Si Pagoda cemetery (Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City). The grave of the once famous actor now lies there, simple and quiet. "Every year on the anniversary of Le Cong Tuan Anh's death, artists and actors such as Quyen Linh, Phuoc Sang, Trinh Kim Chi, ... all come to pay their respects. At that time, every day there were fans coming to burn incense for this talented but ill-fated actor. In the early days, we saw a young girl sneaking to his grave crying. After a while, no one saw that girl come again, probably her grief had subsided", said Mr. Xuan, real name Diep Nam Thang, manager of the Nghe Si Pagoda.

According to Giadinh.net.vn