Life sentence upheld for defendant Tran Thuy Lieu

On June 22, in the trial of the murder of journalist Hoang Hung (former reporter of Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper), the Supreme People's Court of Appeal in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the first instance verdict, sentencing defendant Tran Thuy Lieu (born in 1971, Long An) to life in prison for the crime of "murder".

Defendant Tran Thuy Lieu at the trial (Photo: hanoimoi.com.vn)

According to the first instance verdict, Tran Thuy Lieu is the wife of journalist Hoang Hung, and the couple has two daughters. In 2005, the couple's relationship broke down because Ms. Lieu had an affair with Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, former Captain of Market Management Team No. 5, under the Long An Market Management Department. The conflict grew when Hoang Hung discovered that his wife and Mr. Tam often went to Cambodia to gamble and that the two had a close relationship. Hoang Hung beat Ms. Lieu. Losing money and owing money, Ms. Lieu discussed with Hoang Hung about selling her house to pay off the debt, but was refused. From then on, Lieu had the idea of ​​burning her husband with gasoline.

Defendant Tran Thuy Lieu was escorted back to prison. Photo: internet

On January 17, 2011, Lieu bought 12 meters of parachute cord and 20,000 VND of gasoline and put it in the wardrobe in Hoang Hung's bedroom on the first floor. At about 9:00 p.m. that same day, Lieu went upstairs to take the parachute cord to the first floor balcony, folded the cord in half, tied a knot, then tied it to the iron bar on the railing to distract the investigation agency if discovered, and waited for an opportunity.

At about 1:00 a.m. on January 19, 2011, Lieu went to the balcony on the first floor, dropped the parachute cord that had been tied to the ground, and went into the living room to get a rolled-up newspaper, a red lighter, and a bag of gasoline. Knowing that her husband was asleep, Lieu lit the newspaper, threw the bag of gasoline at Hoang Hung's sleeping place, and at the same time threw the burning newspaper in, then quickly went back to her room.

As soon as she lay down, she heard Hoang Hung calling for help and running to her room. Lieu ran out and pushed her husband into the bathroom, pouring water on Hung to put out the fire while calling for help. At this time, Hoang Hung's two children woke up, and Nguyen Van Sua (Mrs. Lieu's brother-in-law) from the adjacent house rushed to the balcony to help put out the fire. When the incident happened, the main door on the ground floor of Hoang Hung's house was locked and could not be entered. Hoang Hung was taken to Long An hospital for emergency treatment, then transferred to Cho Ray hospital (Ho Chi Minh City) for treatment, and died on January 29, 2011.

On March 29, 2012, the Long An Provincial People's Court sentenced Tran Thuy Lieu to life in prison for "murder". Believing that this sentence was too harsh, Lieu appealed for a lighter sentence. Journalist Hoang Hung's mother, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Nga, also appealed, requesting the appellate court to overturn the sentence and hand the case over to the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Agency for re-investigation because she believed that there were signs of missing criminals and that the first instance court violated the law.

At the appeal hearing, Lieu admitted that her crime and improper relationship with Mr. Nguyen Van Tam were morally corrupt, and asked Hoang Hung's mother for forgiveness. Lieu stated that she burned the gasoline alone, without discussing it with anyone, and that her motive was to "scare" her husband, not to intentionally kill him. Regarding her relationship with Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, according to the announcement of the Trial Council, the two often contacted each other, with calls lasting nearly 1,000 seconds, and daily text messages sometimes reaching up to 70 messages./.

According to VNA-M