The man who couldn't buy the house on stilts punched the owner and set it on fire.

On the morning of August 19, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a criminal appeal trial of defendant Nguyen Nhu Tien (born 1978), residing in Tien Phong commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Property destruction".

The trial was opened due to Tien's appeal. The defendant claimed that he was wrongly accused, and that the prosecutor had detained him without a warrant, claiming that he had been forced to confess during the investigation.

According to documents from the authorities, around June 2018, Tien met many times with Mr. Pham Van Nghia, residing in Dong Van commune, Que Phong district, to discuss the sale of the house. On June 18, 2018, Mr. Nghia promised to call Tien at 8:00 p.m. to inform him whether or not to sell the house. At the appointed time, but seeing no movement from Mr. Nghia, Tien called and texted many times but did not see Mr. Nghia reply.

At 10 p.m. the same day, Tien drove to Mr. Nghia's house to look for him but did not see him at home. Looking around, Tien saw a piece of cloth where the motorbike was parked in the yard, so he poured gasoline on the cloth, then clamped the cloth to a bamboo stick and lit a fire, then set it on Mr. Nghia's thatched roof.

At this time, Ms. Lang Thi Van (Mr. Nghia's wife) smelled gasoline so she opened the door to see Tien holding a bamboo stick to burn the house. When he saw Ms. Van, Tien immediately said: "I'm burning the house, I'm Tien Phung". After saying that, Tien left the bamboo stick and got in the car to go home. Seeing the house on fire, Ms. Van immediately called for everyone to come to the rescue.

Defendant Nguyen Nhu Tien in court. Photo: Tran Vu

On the way back, when he met Mr. Nghia, Tien stopped his car and punched Mr. Nghia in the face, saying: “If I don’t burn your house down today, I will tomorrow. If I can’t punch you today, I will punch you again tomorrow.” After a passerby stopped him, Tien got in his car and left.

After the incident, Mr. Nghia filed a report with the police. On June 19, 2018, the police investigation agency of Que Phong district executed an emergency arrest warrant against Nguyen Nhu Tien.

Mr. Nghia’s wooden stilt house is valued at 140 million VND. The burnt thatched roof is worth 200,000 VND.

The first instance verdict then sentenced Nguyen Nhu Tien to 5 months and 4 days in prison for "Property Destruction". Believing that he was wronged, Tien filed an appeal. At the appeal hearing, the defendant maintained the content of the appeal. Tien insisted that he was wronged and did not admit to the crime.

The panel of judges determined that the act of soaking a rag in gasoline and burning the thatched roof of the house on stilts of Mr. Pham Van Nghia's family had a negative impact on security, order and social safety in the locality. The fact that the house fire did not cause any major damage was beyond Tien's subjective intention because the homeowner promptly discovered it and called on the surrounding people to come and put out the fire. Therefore, the prosecution of the defendant for the crime of "Property Destruction" was the right person, the right crime and the right law.

At court, the defendant raised some appeals but there was not enough evidence to consider them. Considering the case as a whole, the panel of judges rejected the defendant's appeal and sentenced Nguyen Nhu Tien to 5 months and 4 days in prison for "Property Destruction".

Nguyen Nhu Tien is a person with a bad personal history. In 2004, Tien was administratively punished by the People's Court of Que Phong district for "Gambling". In 2010, Tien was sentenced to 12 months in prison but given a suspended sentence for "Violating regulations on road traffic control". 3 years later, Tien was sentenced to 3 months in prison for "Resisting a person on official duty".