The life sentence for defendant Tran Thuy Lieu was upheld.

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

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

According to the initial court ruling, Tran Thuy Lieu was the wife of journalist Hoang Hung, and they had two daughters. In 2005, their marital relationship soured due to Ms. Lieu's affair with Mr. Nguyen Van Tam, former team leader of Market Management Team No. 5, under the Long An Market Management Department. The conflict escalated when Hoang Hung discovered his wife and Mr. Tam frequently went to Cambodia to gamble and had a close relationship. Hoang Hung beat Ms. Lieu. Having lost money gambling and accumulated debts, Ms. Lieu discussed selling their house to pay off the debts, but he refused. From then on, Lieu conceived the idea of ​​using gasoline to burn her husband.

Defendant Tran Thuy Lieu is being escorted back to the detention center. Photo: internet

On January 17, 2011, Lieu bought 12 meters of nylon rope and 20,000 dong worth of gasoline, which she placed in the wardrobe in Hoang Hung's bedroom on the first floor. Around 9 PM that same day, Lieu went upstairs, took the nylon rope to the first-floor balcony, folded it in half, tied a knot, and then tied it to the iron railing to mislead investigators if discovered, while waiting for an opportunity.

At approximately 1:00 AM on January 19, 2011, Lieu went to the balcony on the first floor, dropped the rope she had previously tied to the ground, and then went into the living room to retrieve a rolled-up newspaper, a red lighter, and a bag of gasoline. Knowing her husband was asleep, Lieu immediately set the newspaper on fire, threw the bag of gasoline at where Hoang Hung was sleeping, and also threw the burning newspaper into the fire before quickly returning to her room.

Just as she lay down, hearing Hoang Hung shouting for help and running to her room, Lieu ran out, pushed her husband into the bathroom, and poured water on him while shouting for help. At this time, Hoang Hung's two children woke up, and Nguyen Van Sua (Lieu's brother-in-law), who lived in the adjacent house, rushed to the balcony to help put out the fire. When the incident occurred, the main door on the ground floor of Hoang Hung's house was locked, making entry impossible. 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 imprisonment for "murder." Considering the sentence too harsh, Lieu appealed for a reduced sentence. The mother of journalist Hoang Hung, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Nga, also appealed, requesting the appellate court to overturn the verdict and remand the case to the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Agency for reinvestigation, arguing that there were signs of overlooked crimes and procedural violations by the lower court.

At the appeal hearing, Lieu admitted to the crime, acknowledging her illicit relationship with Mr. Nguyen Van Tam as morally corrupt, and asked Hoang Hung's mother for forgiveness. Lieu testified that she acted alone in setting the fire with gasoline, without consulting 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 court's announcement, the two frequently communicated, with phone calls lasting nearly 1,000 seconds and daily text messages sometimes reaching 70.

According to VNA-M