Methadone wasn't enough, so he bought drugs to use and got caught.
(Baonghean.vn) - The judge questioned him: "Why did you buy heroin to use while using Methadone to quit your addiction?" He explained, "Because the dose of methadone I was taking wasn't enough, but I was afraid that if I used a higher dose, it would be difficult to quit later, so I bought heroin to use instead."
On the afternoon of July 25th, the Thai Hoa Town People's Court opened a trial to hear the criminal case against Nguyen Phu Nam, whose permanent residence is in Hamlet 4A, Nghia Dong Commune, Tan Ky District, for the crime of "Illegal possession of narcotics".
According to the indictment, at approximately 10:00 AM on March 31, 2018, Nguyen Phu Nam rode his motorbike to Ta Ngoc Ha's house in Hamlet 5A, Nghia Dong Commune, and then went with Ha to the Thai Hoa Town Medical Center to take methadone.
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| Defendant Nguyen Phu Nam at the court. Photo:Chau Minh |
After taking the methadone, Nam drove Ha to the Quang Phong ward area of Thai Hoa town. When they reached the Khe Me area (in Quang Phong ward), Nam told Ha to get out and wait while he went to do something and would come back to pick her up later.
Ha got out of the car while Nam ran alone along the 19/5 road to the house of Le My Hung, commonly known as "Hung Hien" (born in 1977), residing in Nghia Son Hamlet, Quang Phong Ward, Thai Hoa Town, to buy a packet of heroin for 300,000 VND.
After purchasing the heroin, Nguyen Phu Nam put the package in his back pocket and returned to pick up Ha. When the two arrived at the Forestry Products Processing Block 2, Quang Phong Ward, Thai Hoa Town, they were discovered and caught red-handed by a task force of the Thai Hoa Town Police.
In the forensic examination report No. 466/KL-PC54(MT) dated April 6, 2018, the Criminal Technical Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police concluded that the white powder seized from Nguyen Phu Nam was heroin weighing 0.15 grams.
In court, defendant Nguyen Phu Nam testified that since 2016, he had become addicted to heroin. During one instance of buying drugs for personal use, he was arrested by the Tan Ky District Police and fined 1,000,000 VND for illegally possessing narcotics. Around the beginning of 2017, Nam started taking methadone to overcome his drug addiction.
When questioned by the judge about why he bought heroin to use while taking methadone for addiction treatment, he explained, "Because the methadone dosage I was taking wasn't enough, but I was afraid that using a higher dose would make it difficult to quit later, so I bought heroin to use instead."
Considering the defendant's criminal conduct, the panel of judges determined that this was a socially dangerous act and a serious crime. Despite having previously been convicted of illegally possessing narcotics, defendant Nguyen Phu Nam continued his criminal behavior. Therefore, a strict punishment is necessary to have a rehabilitative and deterrent effect on society as a whole.
Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the court sentenced Nguyen Phu Nam to 16 months in prison for illegally possessing narcotics.
