Appeal trial of passenger murdering taxi driver and robbing property
(Baonghean.vn) - In debt, Nguyen Van Hung tried to borrow money from relatives but was unsuccessful. Hung came up with the idea of robbing and killing the taxi driver.
On September 29, in Nghe An, the Hanoi High People's Court opened an appeal trial of defendant Nguyen Van Hung (born in 1987, residing in Thuong Tan Loc commune, Nam Dan district) for the crimes of "Murder" and "Robbery". The trial was opened due to an appeal by the victim's family.
According to the first instance verdict, due to his addiction to gambling and owing a large amount of money, and being constantly asked by creditors to pay, on August 18, 2021, Hung rode his motorbike to an acquaintance's house in Anh Son district to borrow money but was unsuccessful. After that, Hung had the idea of committing a robbery.
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Defendant Nguyen Van Hung. Photo: Tran Vu |
On the afternoon of August 19, 2021, after leaving his relative's house, Hung saw Mr. Dang Dinh T. (residing in Phuc Son commune, Anh Son district) parking a taxi on the side of the road, so he asked to take him to Dinh Son commune. When the car reached Cay Chanh bridge (Dinh Son commune), Hung asked the driver to turn onto a deserted road.
When the car reached a deserted area, Hung told the driver to slow down and suddenly held a knife to his neck, demanding money. When Mr. T. resisted, Hung used the knife to cut his throat and stabbed him multiple times in the chest, shoulder, and arm. Mr. T. opened the car door and ran away, calling for help, but after running about 100m, he fell down and died.
After committing the crime, Hung fled to the mountains. The next day, Hung returned to get his car and was arrested by the police.
During the investigation, Nguyen Van Hung showed signs of mental illness, so the police requested an assessment. The North Central Forensic Psychiatric Institute concluded that before, during, and after committing the crime and at the time of assessment, the suspect Hung suffered from personality disorders and other organic behaviors due to brain disease, brain damage, or brain dysfunction.
At the above times, Hung had sufficient cognitive ability and limited ability to control his behavior.
The court of first instance sentenced Nguyen Van Hung to life in prison for “Murder”, 3 years and 6 months in prison for “Robbery”, the total sentence is life in prison.
In civil matters, the defendant was ordered to compensate the victim nearly 200 million VND for mental damage and funeral expenses, and to provide child support of 2.5 million VND per month until the child turns 18 years old.
Afterwards, the victim's family appealed, claiming that the court had not tried the right person or committed the wrong crime, and requested an increase in the defendant's sentence.
At the appeal court, the victim's family maintained their appeal. The victim's side argued that after the first instance trial, the defendant's family did not actively compensate the victim's representative, so they requested an increase in the sentence for defendant Hung.
At court, the panel of judges created conditions for the two families of the defendant and the victim to negotiate on civil compensation but could not reach a common voice.
Considering that the first instance verdict was correct in terms of the person, the crime and the law, the appellate panel rejected the appeal of the victim's family and upheld the life sentence for defendant Nguyen Van Hung.
