Death sentence upheld for Lao man who transported 10 heroin cakes across the border

On November 29, the High People's Court in Hanoi opened an appeal hearing due to an appeal requesting a reduction in the sentence for Lau Giong De (born in 1985, residing in Na Kham village, Kham Cot district, Bo Ly Kham Xay province, Lao PDR) for the crime of "Illegal transportation of drugs".

Defendant Goat Breeding. Photo: Nhu Binh

Lau Giong De was hired by a Laotian to transport 10 heroin cakes and more than 3.2 kg of crystal meth to Vietnam for a fee of 6 million Lao kip. On the evening of December 30, 2017, this person gave Lau Giong De the above drugs and told him to go with Tho Dia, who would be the one to pay the fee.

At around 9:00 p.m. on December 31, 2017, Tho Dia and Lau Giong De carried drugs across the Laos-Vietnam border to deliver the goods. Tho Dia carried the crystal meth in front, Lau Giong De followed with 10 heroin bars.

At around 2:00 a.m. on December 31, 2017, when they arrived at Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, Ky Son, they were discovered by the working group of Nam Can Border Guard Station in coordination with the Crime and Drug Prevention Department of Nghe An Border Guard. Tho Dia threw away the bag of drugs and ran away, while Lau Giong De was caught red-handed with 10 heroin bars on his person.

In the first and second instance trials, Lau Giong De admitted his crimes, but the defendant claimed that he was arrested in Phuc Vinh village (Bolikhamxay province, Laos) and not in Vietnam. When the Nghe An Provincial People's Court invited the border guards who participated in De's arrest and the interpreter for the investigation team to confront him in court, the defendant did not accept the answer of these two people that Lau Giong De was arrested in Vietnam.

However, during the appeal trial, Lau Giong De could not provide evidence to prove his claims. Therefore, the appellate panel rejected the appeal for a reduced sentence and upheld the death sentence for Lau Giong De.