Bombing case on passenger bus: Perpetrator receives life sentence.

(Baonghean.vn) - After a postponement due to the defendant fainting in court, on the morning of June 23, the Provincial People's Court continued the first-instance criminal trial of Le Duc De (born in 1989, residing in Block 15, Mai Hung Ward, Hoang Mai Town, Nghe An Province) for the crimes of murder and illegal possession and manufacture of explosives.

This case once shocked public opinion due to its novel methods and tactics, the first of their kind in Nghe An province. According to the prosecution, De and Le Cong Tung, although not acquainted, worked together in the drywall installation business. During their business dealings, Tung consistently offered more competitive prices, resulting in more projects. Believing that Tung was unfairly treating him, De conceived a plan for revenge.

Defendant Đệ before the court.

On the evening of September 20, 2014, De manufactured a landmine, placed it inside a music speaker, and attached a detonator. The following afternoon, De put the speaker with the landmine into a cardboard box, writing the address of Mr. Tung's company on the box. To conceal his crime, De carried the "gift" package nearly 100 km from Hoang Mai town to Vinh bus station to send it by bus. De sent the package to Mr. Tran Van Quy, a bus conductor, for a fee of 45,000 VND.

However, due to dialing the wrong phone number on the package, Mr. Quy was unable to deliver the cardboard box containing De's homemade bomb to the intended recipient. On the morning of September 30, 2014, Mr. Tran Van Tam (the main driver) told everyone about the unclaimed package. Mr. Thai Viet Hao opened the package, borrowed a passenger's memory card, and plugged the power cord into the socket behind the driver's seat. When Mr. Hao switched on the speaker, the speaker exploded. As a result, the passenger bus was damaged; Mr. Tran Van Tam, Mr. Thai Viet Hao (the bus conductor), and Mr. Phan Dinh Ninh (the assistant driver) were seriously injured and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Mr. Hao, who suffered 98% health damage due to the explosion caused by De, attended the trial.

After nearly a month of intensive investigation, on October 26th, the Nghi Loc District Police, in coordination with relevant units, arrested Le Duc De at his home. Authorities also seized several explosive materials at the scene.

The expert assessment concluded that Mr. Hao suffered 98% health damage, Mr. Tam suffered 80% health damage, and Mr. Ninh suffered 15% health damage. The damaged car was valued at 90 million VND. The prosecutor at the trial stated that although De's crime was an incomplete offense, it had caused exceptionally serious consequences, using methods and capabilities that could have resulted in multiple deaths. Therefore, a harsh sentence was necessary to appropriately punish the defendant and serve as a general deterrent for society.

At the trial, De sincerely confessed, expressed remorse for his actions, and apologized to the victims. Recognizing that the defendant's criminal acts had caused public alarm and negatively impacted local security and order, after consideration, the court sentenced De to life imprisonment for murder and two years imprisonment for illegally possessing and manufacturing explosives. De is required to serve the combined life sentence. Regarding civil matters, the court ordered De to compensate the victims with over 600 million VND. In addition, De is responsible for providing monthly support of over 6 million VND to his children (until they reach adulthood), his wife, and his brother Hao.

Khang Hoa

(PC 81 CANA)