On the afternoon of 17/12, the Nghe An Provincial People's Court sentenced Son, 43, for murder, under Article 123 of the Penal Code.

The trial panel determined that the defendant's actions caused exceptionally serious consequences and posed a danger to society, requiring a severe sentence for deterrence and general prevention. Son must pay funeral expenses and provide support of 2 million dong a month for each of the victim's three children until they reach adulthood.

Defendant Vi Van Son at court. Photo: Hung Le

In court, Son expressed remorse and apologized to the victim's family, hoping for a reduced sentence to return soon and atone for his mistakes.

According to the indictment, the incident occurred around 7h30 on 26/5 at Son's home in Tam Hop commune (formerly Quy Hop district). Son, Tinh, and a friend were drinking and eating. During their session, Tinh spoke about building tombs for his grandparents and mentioned exhuming graves. Son interrupted, saying, "You keep talking about ghosts in my house," and told Tinh to leave.

Tinh did not leave; he continued to talk about exhuming graves, leading to an argument and raised voices between the two. The friend at the table, seeing the argument, stood up to leave, while Tinh walked to the gate, continued to curse, and challenged Son, "If you're so good, come out here."

Authorities accused Son of then grabbing a knife more than 30 cm long and running to the gate to "talk." The friend ran back to intervene but Son pushed him away. Meanwhile, Tinh continued to challenge, "If you're so good, stab me." Son stabbed him once in the abdomen, causing his death.

Two hours after the crime, Son surrendered.

Duc Hung