Repaying the debt of gratitude with a cruel knife!

(Baonghean.vn)- Tall, fair-skinned, with a high nose and thick glasses on the bridge of his nose, he exudes an intelligent and intellectual appearance. That is the bright appearance of Vo Xuan Lam (born in 1984, residing in Nghi Lien commune, Vinh city), completely different from his miserable life and the mistakes he has made.

Orphaned at an early age, Lam had to become the breadwinner of the family, raising three younger siblings. After finishing high school, Lam put away his books to struggle with life as a hired laborer. Lam always showed himself to be a stubborn, reckless young man. A difficult, chaotic life caused this young man to stumble. In 2004, when he had just turned 20, Lam was sentenced to 12 months in prison (with a suspended sentence) by the People's Court of Nghi Loc District (Nghe An Province) for theft. In 2010, Lam was once again fined 7 million VND by the People's Court of Vinh City for gambling.

Nguyen Xuan Lam in court

Lam's life began to change when he met a girl who loved him and got married. Lam gradually became a responsible man, taking care of his wife and children. Every day, Lam and his wife still tried to work for hire everywhere. Two children were born one after another, the family's economy became more and more difficult, so Lam borrowed some money from Duong Van Thinh (born in 1965, residing in Hung Dung ward, Vinh city) to cover living expenses. And also because the loan had not been paid back, the creditor demanded and threatened to beat him, Lam acted coldly, taking the life of the person who had been his benefactor, helping him in difficult times.

With red eyes, Lam recalled that lost afternoon, around 5:00 p.m. on December 22, 2015, Lam went to Nguyen Van Vuong's house (born in 1970, residing in Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city) to discuss organizing Christmas. Here, Lam and Thinh met. Thinh called Lam outside to ask about the money Lam had borrowed from Thinh before, Lam replied "I haven't paid it back yet". Angry because he had not paid the money for a long time, Thinh loudly cursed, grabbed Lam by the collar and threatened to beat him.

Lam snatched Thinh’s hand away and ran into Vuong’s house. Lam saw a knife about 30cm long on the table, so he hid it in his jacket pocket and turned back to find Thinh to “talk”. Seeing Thinh walking on the street, Lam called out, “Thinh, come back here, I have a question for you”. When Thinh turned around, Lam pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the left hip, causing Thinh to collapse.

The victim was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment but died two days later due to severe injuries. The results of the examination by the authorities concluded that the cause of death of Mr. Duong Van Thinh was due to: Severe blood loss shock, rupture of the upper pole of the left kidney, perforation of the greater omentum, mesentery of the transverse colon and transverse colon.

After committing the crime, Lam took his motorbike and fled towards Vinh airport, threw away the murder weapon, then returned home to hide his motorbike and fled the area. After nearly two months on the run, on15/2/2016Lam turned himself in to the authorities and confessed to his murder.

Late tears

During the trial, Lam did not dare to turn his head to look at the audience, afraid of seeing the white mourning bands tied around the heads of the victims' relatives. Occasionally, the defendant was startled by the cry of his youngest child, not yet one year old, being held by his relatives in the hallway of the court. Down in the audience, his young wife sobbed, calling her husband's name over and over again.

The defendant said that after nearly two months on the run, he had to live in constant fear, not feeling at peace for a single minute because of the haunting memory of the victim’s death. Knowing that he could not escape responsibility for the rest of his life, Lam turned himself in and confessed his crimes. “The defendant cannot forgive himself for his crimes, nor does he expect to receive forgiveness from the victim’s family…

Sitting in the victim's chair, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (the victim's wife) cried as she listened to the defendant recount his murder of her husband. However, this woman stood up and asked for a lighter sentence for the person who took her husband's life, leaving her and her children as widows and orphans. "My family is broken because of the defendant. The defendant returned kindness with hatred and left my mother and children as widows and orphans, he deserves to die. But the defendant has a young wife and children, they are like my mother and children, not guilty of anything. Please give the defendant a chance to live, so that he can return soon with his wife to take care of his two young children."

After reviewing the details of the case, for the act of murder, the People's Court sentenced Vo Xuan Lam to 11 years in prison.

The trial ended, Lam was taken back to the detention center. Lam covered his face and cried when he saw his young wife sobbing, holding and leading two children standing outside the hallway watching Lam until the truck disappeared.

Hoang Hai