The long way home because of following in her husband's footsteps to sell 'white death'
(Baonghean.vn) - Not long after her ex-husband received the maximum sentence for drug use, Chien also made the same mistake as her husband. Although after the first instance trial, Chien tried to shorten his prison term and the appeals court accepted it. However, the 18-year sentence made this young woman's return a long way off.
Following in the footsteps of her ex-husband's drug trafficking
In Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, the family of Nguyen Thi Chien (born 1982) became “famous” when both husband and wife were in trouble with the law due to drugs. Although Chien had divorced her husband, the fact that her ex-husband participated in a “huge” drug ring and was sentenced to death made their actions known to many people.
Chien's ex-husband, Nguyen Canh Vinh (born 1973), and his accomplices trafficked more than 4.4 kg of drugs from Nghe An to Dak Nong province in early February 2020. After this drug trafficking ring was exposed, Nguyen Canh Vinh was arrested and received the highest sentence, the death penalty.
After her ex-husband was sentenced to prison, instead of being discouraged and afraid, Chien tried to learn about her husband’s “business” path. Although she knew that drug crimes would be severely punished by the law, this woman still embarked on a life of crime. Specifically, Chien traded drugs to resell to customers.
According to the records, around the end of August 2022, while on the way to her mother's house, Nguyen Thi Chien met a woman named Hoa who was pushing her motorbike because she had run out of gas. When this person asked to borrow money to fill up the gas tank, Chien told her to go to her house to get the money. From that meeting, Chien began to contact that woman.
In early November 2022, after Hoa called to inform him that she had drugs for sale, Chien ordered 1 package of pink heroin for 4.5 million VND. However, on the day of the transaction, the morning of November 17, Chien bought 17 packages of pink heroin for 76 million VND. Because Chien did not have enough money, the seller agreed to delay the debt and pay later when the sale was successful.
After bringing the drugs home, Chien carefully divided them into many small packages and hid them in various places in her house such as the edge of the yard, the bedroom, her handbag, etc. Her purpose was to gradually sell them to customers to make a profit.
Three days later, Chien was contacted by someone to buy 1 million VND worth of drugs. At noon of the same day, when Nguyen Thi Chien was carrying pink pills disguised in cigarette packs to deliver to customers, she was caught red-handed by the police. Searching Nguyen Thi Chien's residence, the police discovered many packages of drugs hidden in different locations. The authorities determined that in this case, Chien must bear criminal responsibility for the act of buying and selling more than 300 grams of drugs.
The lonely children
With the above behavior, Nguyen Thi Chien was prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”. At the first instance trial, the defendant initially gave a evasive statement, stating that she did not know the price of the drugs and the quantity of the heroin. However, after a period of questioning, the female defendant admitted to the drug trafficking as charged in the indictment.
The female defendant gave many reasons to justify her crime. She explained that she was in difficult circumstances, raising her children alone, and had no stable job. In addition, Chien explained that because of the pressure of debt and wanting “her children to have a better, more fulfilling future”, she had bought and sold drugs.
When the judge reminded him that he could not use hardship as an excuse to commit a crime, Chien bowed his head and remained silent. The defendant explained that he knew that her ex-husband was arrested for drugs and was facing the maximum sentence. However, because he wanted to make a lot of money, he blindly went down the path of breaking the law.
Facing the verdict of the law, the female defendant asked the court for a light sentence so that she could return home soon to take care of her young children. The defendant expressed her fear that while her mother was in prison, her children would drop out of school and fall into social evils. For the crime of “Illegal drug trafficking”, the court of first instance sentenced defendant Nguyen Thi Chien to 20 years in prison.
After receiving the above sentence, the female defendant filed an appeal for a lighter sentence. At the appeal hearing, the defendant presented the special circumstances of her family, especially the fact that her three young children needed adult care, to ask the court to reduce her sentence. In addition, the defendant also presented new details that she had reported a crime to help the police solve the gambling case.
During the first and second instance trials, the defendant’s children attended to see their mother. Since their mother was arrested, the three children had to look after each other and rely on relatives. The defendant said that this was something that always made him feel guilty and worried about his children.
During the time they met their mother in court, the children, their faces red from playing in the court yard, looked shy. When asked by their mother, the siblings just nodded and remained silent. For money, Chien had disregarded everything and fallen into crime. Now, the female defendant not only has to face the verdict of the law but also has other worries as her children live alone, lacking the love of their parents.
With that worry in mind, the defendant constantly reminded her relatives to educate and try to closely monitor her children to avoid social traps. That was the biggest concern of the female defendant during her time in prison.
With the provision of new details, the appellate court accepted the defendant's appeal and amended the first instance judgment to reduce the sentence from 20 years to 18 years in prison for defendant Nguyen Thi Chien for the crime of "Illegal drug trafficking".
Although Chien’s return journey was shortened, the 18-year sentence is quite a long time for the female defendant, because at home there are a group of young children. Surely before falling into drugs, both Chien and her ex-husband knew clearly the price they had to pay. However, because of greed, both followed in each other’s footsteps and had to receive a severe sentence from the law. And now, the innocent children have to live in a situation lacking love, care from their parents and an uncertain future…
