Appeal trial of 'addicted couple' who went to the overpass together to receive heroin

On January 5, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened an appeal trial of defendants Pham Thanh Hai (born 1980) and Tran Trung Kien (born 1990), both residing in Vinh City, for the crime of“Illegal possession of drugs”. The trial was opened due to an appeal for a reduction in sentence by two defendants.

The case file shows that on April 2, 2022, due to the need to use drugs, Hai called a man named Giang (unknown background and address) to ask to buy pink pills.

Two defendants at the appeal hearing. Photo: Tran Vu

Giang told Hai to go to the 72m street area, Quan Bau ward, Vinh city to get drugs hidden in a cigarette pack, left near an electric pole near the overpass.

After reaching an agreement, Hai drove the car with Kien to get the drugs. Upon arrival, Hai told Kien to go to the electric pole to get a pack of cigarettes containing pink pills. On the way back, Kien opened the pack of cigarettes and took out a few pink pills to use. At 1 p.m. the same day, the two subjects were arrested by the police with evidence of more than 15 grams of pink pills.

The first instance court sentenced defendant Pham Thanh Hai to 7 years and 6 months in prison, and defendant Tran Trung Kien to 7 years in prison. The two defendants later appealed for a reduction in their sentences.

At the appeal hearing, the two defendants maintained their appeal. Defendant Hai argued that the first instance judgment did not apply the fact that the defendant had revealed that Giang was a drug dealer and that his family had contributed to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Defendant Kien claimed that in this case he only committed the crime as an accomplice. He also presented the details of his confession that the drug dealer and his maternal grandparents were people who had contributed to the State in order to request a lighter sentence.

The appellate court determined that before the trial, the defendant Kien's family had provided evidence that his grandparents had contributed to the revolution. The panel found that this was a new mitigating circumstance that the first instance court had not considered. Therefore, there was a basis to consider reducing the defendant's sentence. Accordingly, the appellate court partially accepted the defendant Tran Trung Kien's appeal, amending the first instance sentence from 7 years in prison to 6 years in prison.

Regarding defendant Nguyen Thanh Hai, because the defendant committed a serious crime and had a bad personal history, and there were no new details at this trial, the court rejected the appeal and upheld the sentence of 7 years and 6 months in prison.