The single father's slip after broken marriage

(Baonghean.vn)- After her broken marriage, Phuong always seemed depressed. When hearing the news that Phuong had a new love, her relatives were happy, hoping that their son would soon stabilize his life. Unexpectedly, Phuong and her lover joined a drug trafficking ring, leaving the young child "orphaned" of both parents.

During the first instance trial of the “Illegal drug trafficking” case that took place in mid-May, Ms. Vo Thi Xuan (born in 1965), residing in Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district, mother of defendant Pham Van Phuong (born in 1988), shed tears many times. Every now and then, she ran out to the hallway to look after her nearly 6-year-old grandchild.

With red eyes, Mrs. Xuan sadly said: “Because of family circumstances, Phuong dropped out of school before finishing high school and went to work. Not long after, he got married. Seeing our son settle down, my husband and I felt somewhat reassured. But unexpectedly, his life began to change…”

According to Mrs. Xuan, when her grandchild was just 10 months old, her daughter-in-law left. Feeling sorry for her little grandchild who was thirsty for milk, Mrs. Xuan took care of him. As for Phuong, after her marriage broke down, Phuong changed her personality.

Ms. Xuan - mother of defendant Pham Van Phuong ran after her fallen son to advise him. Photo: Tran Vu.

Some time later, Ms. Xuan saw Phuong bring home a young girl named Dang Thi Loan (born in 1993), residing in Thach Ha town, Thach Ha district, Ha Tinh province. “Knowing that the two were dating, my family had no objections because they saw that Loan was gentle. After a broken marriage, the family wanted her to quickly find a new home to settle down. Unexpectedly, both of them ended up in prison,” Ms. Xuan choked up.

According to the indictment, on the morning of November 26, 2016, Tran Van Chinh (born in 1993, residing in Dong Hoi City, Quang Binh Province) called Dang Thi Loan to order 2 heroin plants to sell. Loan quoted a price of 50 million VND/2 heroin plants, and Chinh agreed. In the afternoon of the same day, Chinh rented a self-driving car, then invited Nguyen Hong Son (born in 1997, residing in Dong Hoi City) to "go to Nghe An to get some drugs to sell". When they arrived at Thach Ha town, these two subjects picked up Loan and Phuong to go to Tuong Duong district to buy heroin.

At 1am the next day, when they arrived at Doc Kem hill (Yen Na commune, Tuong Duong district), the couple Loan and Phuong went up the hill to buy drugs, a package of pink pills from a Mong man. On the way back, because they were sleepy, Chinh stopped the car and told Son to take 4 pink pills to "stay awake".

At around 5:00 a.m. on November 27, 2016, when Chinh was driving on National Highway 7A (Long Son Commune, Anh Son District), he was asked by the Nghe An Police Task Force to stop the car for inspection. Although Chinh signaled Son to dispose of the evidence, the soldiers were able to detect and arrest Chinh, Loan, Son, and Phuong. The seized evidence included 68.835 grams of heroin and 1.59 grams of synthetic drugs (Methamphetamine). In addition, Loan and Phuong were also seized with 0.66 grams of Methamphetamine that Long had given them to use as a sample to sell to drug addicts.

In court, after hearing the defendants’ statements that they used drugs while buying and selling heroin, their relatives sitting below were all sad. The judge spoke sternly, saying that the defendants’ illegal drug trafficking was extremely dangerous because it caused the deaths of many people and was a danger to the whole society. It was reprehensible that the defendants were young but got involved in drugs, not only leading themselves to death but also causing their relatives to suffer.

During the debate, after the prosecutor presented the indictment, the defendants admitted that the act of "drug trafficking" was wrong.

In the courtroom, the child was wearing a sports outfit and was brought to meet his father by Mrs. Xuan. As soon as she saw Phuong, the little child rushed forward, trying to grab her father's hand. The distance was quite far so the father and son could only look at each other. The child, almost 6 years old, after a while looked at his father and then threw himself into his grandmother's arms, tears welling up. Witnessing that scene, Mrs. Xuan cried even louder. Phuong turned her head down, trying to tell her son: "Be good at home with your grandparents, remember to come visit your father during the summer break." As if somehow understanding her situation, the child only said "yes, yes".

Holding her little grandchild in her arms, Mrs. Xuan said that since the couple separated, the wife has never visited her child. “The two houses are only a few kilometers apart, but she doesn’t care about her children. My poor grandchild, already lacking the love of a mother, now has to be away from his father. I don’t know what will happen to him when he grows up…”, Mrs. Xuan said sadly.

For the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”, the People’s Court sentenced Tran Van Chinh and Dang Thi Loan to 17 years in prison each, Pham Van Phuong to 16 years in prison, and Nguyen Hong Son to 15 years in prison.

Hearing her son’s sentence, Mrs. Xuan’s eyes turned red. The mother – the grandmother quietly led her little grandchild and followed the defendant Phuong to the covered car. One hand held the grandchild tightly, the other hand touched the child and then tried to give advice…

Tran Vu