On 18/8, Tri (38 years old, also known as Ti Heo, a resident of the former Vung Tau City) was sentenced to death by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City for murder, intentional injury, property destruction, and resisting law enforcement.
The judging panel stated that the defendant's refusal to comply with a routine drug test and his violent attack on law enforcement demonstrated a disregard for the law and a clear intent to take a life, warranting the harshest possible penalty.
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Duong Huu Tri in court. Photo: Truong Ha |
Duong Huu Tri in court. Photo: Truong Ha
According to the indictment, from June 2023 to June 2025, Tri was under the management of Ward 7 People's Committee, former Vung Tau City, following drug rehabilitation. Police were required to conduct regular and random drug tests.
On 17/2/2025, local police officer Le Anh Tuan visited Tri's home to request he undergo a drug test, but Tri refused and became confrontational. Tuan reported the incident to his superiors.
At past 7 a.m. on 3/3, Tuan and three colleagues returned to Tri's residence. Tri again refused, resorting to verbal abuse and brandishing two knives. He stabbed at one officer, tearing his shirt, and knocked over two police motorbikes, opening their fuel caps and letting the gasoline spill. He then set the motorbikes on fire, destroyed a police phone, and barricaded himself inside his house.
After escorting Tri’s parents outside, Tuan locked the front door. Tri then threw boiling water on Tuan, causing second-degree burns to 2% of his neck, ear, and right flank.
Given Tri’s violent resistance, Ba Ria - Vung Tau provincial police were called to the scene. Along with local authorities, they attempted to negotiate with Tri, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Tri opened a 12 kg gas canister, threatening to blow up the house if anyone entered.
A 10-member mobile police unit, including Sergeant Nguyen Ngoc Minh Nhat (25) and Le Van Trung (24), approached the house with shields. Tri charged at them with two knives. Although the officers used fire extinguishers to obscure his vision, Tri stabbed at the shields and fatally wounded Nhat in the chest before fleeing to the second floor.
Trung pursued Tri and was stabbed in the back of his hand, sustaining a 1% injury. Tri remained barricaded in a bedroom until 1 p.m. when he was finally apprehended. Nhat was rushed to the hospital but died from blood loss caused by the wound to his lung.
In court, Tri admitted to previous convictions for intentional injury and two instances of mandatory drug rehabilitation. He claimed unemployment after his last rehabilitation.
"I plead guilty and accept the charges. The drug test was justified, but I resisted out of fear of being arrested and a sense of panic," Tri said, claiming he had been drug-free since returning home in 2023.
Tri admitted to resisting the officers, setting fire to the motorbikes, and brandishing knives on 3/3 out of anger and "to make them leave". He claimed he stabbed Nhat to escape. "I knew what I was doing was wrong, but at the time I was only thinking about running away," Tri testified.
Nhat’s mother, Pham Thi Anh Hong, was present in court. She described rushing to the hospital after hearing her son had been stabbed, seeing many doctors working on him, and still thinking "he's only injured". "Nhat was a good son, responsible to his family. I don't seek compensation, I only want justice and deterrence so that my son is the last to die in the line of duty," Hong said.
The two former Ward 7 police officers did not seek compensation for their damaged motorbikes and phone. Officer Trung requested 20 million VND for emotional distress and medical expenses, which Tri accepted but stated he was unable to pay.
Tri declined to make a final statement.
Truong Ha
