On 16/7, the People’s Procuracy of District 12, Lam Dong province, officially charged 47-year-old Phuoc under Article 330 of the penal code.

Investigators said that on the evening of 12/7, after drinking at his brother’s house, Phuoc returned home and confronted his wife about selling cigarettes on credit to young men in the village, becoming jealous. He yelled, cursed at her, and then violently chopped a wall with a long knife, frightening his wife who fled to her parents’ house next door.

Phuoc then took a homemade gun and fired four warning shots into the air from the side of his house, trying to intimidate his wife into returning.

K' Van Phuoc (center) being restrained by police at his home on 13/7. Photo: Hoang Long

K' Van Phuoc (center) being restrained by police at his home on 13/7. Photo: Hoang Long

After receiving the report, Dong Giang Commune Police dispatched a 10-person team to intervene and prevent Phuoc from causing further harm. Officers tried to persuade him to surrender his weapon, but he threatened to attack anyone who approached. After swinging at and missing a member of the team, Phuoc ran inside his house and barricaded himself with his two young children.

The following morning, at dawn, Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Quoc Hiep was observing the situation from outside Phuoc’s house when Phuoc shot him in the right hip with the homemade gun. Hiep was taken to the hospital and is now out of danger.

Due to the severity of the incident, the Lam Dong Provincial Police Director ordered the Criminal Police Department, the Office of the Police Investigation Agency, and the Mobile Police Department to coordinate with Dong Giang Commune Police to subdue and arrest Phuoc at 5:30 AM.

Police seized two guns, six shell casings, six bullets, and a laser sight.

Tu Huynh