Carrying a knife to kill his neighbor because... the duck had a lame leg
Angry because his neighbor suspected him of beating a lame duck, Tran Huu Minh took a knife and stabbed his neighbor, seriously injuring him.
On August 21, at the People's Court of Nghe An province, the High People's Court in Hanoi opened an appeal trial of defendant Tran Huu Minh (62 years old), residing in Quynh Chau commune, Quynh Luu district, for the crime of "Murder". The victim in the case was Mr. Dinh Minh T. (born 1972), a neighbor.
The case file shows that on November 16, 2023, while taking a lunch break, Mr. T. heard a duck calling outside the pond at home, so he got up to check. Discovering a duck with a lame leg, while the neighbor was sweeping the alley with a broom, Mr. T. thought that Tran Huu Minh had injured the duck.
At this time, Mr. T. spoke up to remind them, and the two sides had a conflict, argued loudly, and fought with each other. After being stopped by everyone, the two sides returned to their homes.
A moment later, Mr. Minh picked up a machete with the intention of cutting elephant grass to feed the cows. When he went out, he saw Mr. T. still standing at the pond bank. Feeling angry, Mr. Minh immediately ran over and slashed his neighbor many times on the head and left arm.
Mr. T. escaped and was taken to the emergency room by nearby residents. Thanks to timely emergency care, the victim was out of danger, however, the disability rate at the time of assessment was 43% with 13 slashes.
At the first instance trial, defendant Minh admitted his crime and apologized to the victim’s family. The defendant said that his actions stemmed from a sudden outburst of anger, due to many conflicts in life that made him temporarily unable to control himself.
The first instance court sentenced defendant Tran Huu Minh to 8 years in prison for murder. In the civil case, the court ordered the defendant to compensate the victim the remaining 100 million VND.
After the first instance trial, the defendant did not appeal, but the Procuracy appealed to increase the prison sentence for the defendant.
At the appeal hearing, the defendant confessed honestly, repeatedly raising his hand to wipe his face in remorse. The defendant stated that after the first instance trial, he had influenced the victim’s family to compensate the victim an additional 20 million VND. The victim filed a petition for a reduced sentence for the defendant.
The appellate court determined that it was necessary to take into account the defendant’s new circumstances, such as influencing the victim’s family to pay additional compensation and the victim’s request for a reduced sentence. The defendant confessed honestly and recognized that his actions were wrong, so increasing the sentence for the defendant was unnecessary.
Therefore, the appellate court upheld the first instance verdict. Sentenced defendant Tran Huu Minh to 8 years in prison for murder.
