Death penalty for car thief, shooting dead construction manager

Believing he was being oppressed at work, Hung used a gun and supporting tools to sneak into the room, kill the construction manager, then steal a car to escape.

On March 7, the People's Court of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province opened a mobile court, tried and sentenced defendant Pham Manh Hung (42 years old, from Lang Son) for the crimes of "Murder", "Robbery" and "Illegal possession and use of military weapons". Defendant Hung had a previous conviction for robbery.

This is a case that shocked the public because of the recklessness, brutality and professionalism of the perpetrator. The victim was the commander of a construction project who died because of a small conflict at work.

The trial attracted public attention. As soon as the trial began, the victim’s family members wore mourning clothes and carried the victim’s portrait to the court. The victim’s family members cried when they heard the cold-blooded perpetrator recount all of his cruel crimes.

Accordingly, Mr. Le Van Chuong is the project manager for PVC-IC Petroleum Industrial and Civil Construction Joint Stock Company (Vung Tau). Hung is a subcontractor, only performing small parts of the project.

The perpetrator (in white shirt) appeared in court with a calm expression.

Believing that Mr. Chuong was oppressing him at work, Hung planned his revenge. On the afternoon of April 5, 2013, at his rented room on Le Van Loc Street (Vung Tau City), Hung prepared many weapons including: Three guns (one homemade revolver gun, two supporting tools); many pieces of parachute cord, one of which was folded in half; rubber gloves, tape, pliers, drill bits, flashlights, hats, and company safety vests.

That night, Hung walked to the Vietsovpetro mixed-use housing project (Nguyen Tri Phuong Street, Ward 7, Vung Tau City). Hung cut the wire fence and entered the construction site, approaching Mr. Chuong's bedroom, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Victim's family fainted in court

At around 3am on April 6, 2013, Mr. Chuong opened the door and went out to use the bathroom. Taking advantage of this moment, Hung sneaked into Mr. Chuong’s room and waited. A few minutes later, Mr. Chuong returned to the bedroom and was suddenly attacked by Hung, who used a rope to strangle him. Mr. Chuong shouted “Robbery! Robbery…” and struggled with Hung.

However, Hung's strong grip made Mr. Chuong unable to hold on any longer and he fainted. Seeing Mr. Chuong motionless, Hung then hung Mr. Chuong from an iron bar but the whole person was still lying face down.

After killing Mr. Chuong, Hung disguised himself as Mr. Chuong, took Mr. Chuong's Honda Civic car with license plate 72A-00166 and drove out the gate.

Seeing Mr. Chuong's car leaving the construction site before dawn, and seeing that the car was not being driven properly, the construction site security guard refused to open the door. Hung immediately pulled out a gun and shot the security guard in the leg. Hung left the car at the construction site, ran out to catch a taxi back to his room, packed his luggage, went to Vung Tau bus station, took a bus to Ho Chi Minh City, and escaped to Hau Giang.

Less than a day after committing the crime, Hung was arrested by the Criminal Police Department for Social Order (PC45) of Ba Ria-Vung Tau province.

According to dantri.com