The perfect cover of the 'butcher' who goes to the field at midnight to sell 'white goods'

The man received many certificates of merit for drug trafficking.

36 years old, Pham Xuan Huynh, residing in Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, is the father of 4 children. The eldest child just turned 10 years old, the youngest is less than 1 year old. On the day Huynh appeared in court for the crime of illegal drug trafficking, it was heartbreaking to see his wife carrying her children to the People's Court of Nghe An province.

Sitting at the witness stand, Huynh was quite comfortable talking to his friends while waiting for the court to start. However, when he saw his wife leading the children in, the young father seemed confused. Seeing his father, the two older children softly called him, their eyes filled with sadness. Pointing to the third child, a relative told a story: a few years ago, when this child was just born, his father went to jail. As for the youngest child, he had not lived with his father for long when this time his father was again in court. I feel so sorry for him...

Huynh's wife, Nguyen Thi H., had a sad expression on her face. After more than 10 years of marriage, despite difficult circumstances and many children, Huynh was addicted to gambling. In 2015, Huynh was fined 5 million VND for gambling. In 2017,Pham Xuan Huynhwas sentenced to 30 months in prison for illegal possession of narcotics. In February 2019, Huynh was released from prison and reintegrated into society. During this time, Huynh was determined to work hard, working as a pig butcher to earn a living and support his wife and children.

Defendant Pham Xuan Huynh was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Photo: Tran Vu

Huynh's reformation and twice receiving certificates of merit for his workCrime preventionmaking Huynh a typical example in the locality. However, on a summer night in 2020, relatives and neighbors were surprised to hear that Huynh was arrested by the police for drug-related crimes.

According to investigation documents, on May 22, 2020, Huynh went to Tri Le commune, Que Phong district to buy 2 packages of ecstasy for 4 million VND from a Mong man. After purchasing the goods, Huynh was also "tipped" 2.5 ecstasy pills by the seller. At 8:30 p.m. on May 29, Duong Van Duc (residing in Cong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district) called Huynh and said: "Do you have any goods? Let me wrap them up. A friend from Dien Chau will come pick them up later. I'm in Saigon." A few dozen minutes later, Huynh received a phone call from a man who introduced himself as Duc's friend and asked to buy 1 package of ecstasy. Huynh agreed to sell it for 4 million VND. At 9:30 p.m. the same day, Huynh took 198 ecstasy pills (weighing 20.05 grams) and rode his motorbike to the field area in My Khanh hamlet to sell to customers, but encountered a working group of Vinh City police, so he abandoned his motorbike and ran away.

Immediately afterwards, Vinh City police executed an emergency search warrant at Pham Xuan Huynh’s residence, seizing 123 pink pills (12.35 grams) hidden in Huynh’s pants pocket and 1.25 grams of MDMA. The investigation agency determined that the total amount of drugs for which Huynh must bear criminal responsibility in this case was 33.65 grams.

Wife runs the market to raise children

Indicted and tried for the crimeIllegal drug traffickingDefendant Huynh did not deny his crime but admitted all his crimes. Huynh admitted that he had been addicted to drugs for several years. After being released from prison, he worked as a pig butcher to make a living but it was very difficult. If this business was successful, he would have made double the amount of money he invested. Huynh showed remorse, especially when mentioning his wife and young children.

During the sentencing, the children were brought in by relatives to meet their father. Photo: Tran Vu

In the courtroom, the defendant's wife, holding her two children, approached where Huynh was sitting. While the youngest child was still too young to understand what was happening, the other children cried when they saw their father handcuffed. Not wanting her husband to be sad, the wife tried to hide her tears, and kept reminding the children to ask about their father.

Three years ago, she once sent her husband to prison. While he was serving his sentence, she took care of their three children alone. Despite the hardship, she tried to endure, hoping that her husband would realize his mistakes and reform so that the family could be reunited. But now, she once again met her husband in a difficult situation.

A relative sadly witnessed the children alone in the courtroom telling the story that since Huynh was arrested, Ms. H. had to leave her several-month-old child with relatives to look after so she could go to the market to raise the children and visit her husband. Relatives are worried about the children's future as they can now only rely on their mother.

After considering the defendant's mitigating circumstances such as saving two drowning students, helping the police of Ky Anh town (Ha Tinh) detect crimes, and receiving two certificates of merit from the People's Committee of Cong Thanh commune in the fight against crime in 2019, the People's Court sentenced Pham Xuan Huynh to 11 years in prison for "Illegal drug trafficking".

Her husband is in prison again, Ms. H. can only encourage herself to try her best to take care of the family and raise her children. 11 years is the time for Huynh to realize her mistakes and reform, and whether the defendant will have her sentence reduced or not, only Huynh can answer that question.