After a two-day trial, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced 35 young men for their involvement in a deadly street fight on July 18.
Thirteen individuals were convicted of murder. Nguyen Hoang Thinh, 19, received the death penalty, while Tran Lam Tuan Huy, 22, from Cau Giay district, received a life sentence. Tran Van Tuan, 21, was sentenced to 17 years. Doan Duc Linh, 16, and Ha Hong Minh, 18, each received 8 years and 6 months. The remaining defendants received sentences ranging from 8 to 13 years.
Another 22 individuals were convicted of disturbing public order. The highest sentence of 5 years was given to Nguyen Duy Trung Kien, 20, from Soc Son district. Six individuals received suspended sentences.
All defendants were between 16 and 22 years old at the time of the incident.
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The defendants in court. Photo: Danh Lam |
The defendants in court. Photo: Danh Lam
The indictment states that at 7:30 PM on June 11, 2024, Thinh, Huy, and 12 others gathered for Minh's birthday celebration at a restaurant in Trung Van ward, Nam Tu Liem district. Afterward, the group traveled 6 km to the Artermis building to take photos and eat cake.
Around 10:15 PM, Thinh's group saw Nguyen Khanh Toan's group riding by on motorbikes without license plates. They began shouting insults and challenged Toan's group to a fight. They grabbed one young man from Toan's group, pulled him off his motorbike, and assaulted him.
Toan's group stopped, armed themselves with sugarcane stalks, pieces of wood, and bricks, and retaliated.
The two groups chased each other to the Le Trong Tan - Truong Chinh intersection, where they encountered 10 more of Toan's friends arriving on five motorbikes. They joined the fight. Seeing their rivals fleeing, some injured and fallen, Toan's group dispersed. The opposing group returned home to tend to their wounds or seek medical attention.
Seeking revenge, Minh, Hieu, Thinh, and their friends planned to gather reinforcements and meet at Vinh Hoang lake in Hoang Mai district to prepare weapons for retaliation.
Kien gathered reinforcements and weapons, traveling from Vinh Phuc province to Hanoi, and agreed to meet at the Le Trong Tan - Truong Chinh intersection. Minh and Hieu met Doan Duc Linh's group and recounted the earlier fight, securing Linh's support at Vinh Hoang lake.
After the initial fight, Thinh and Huy went to Thinh's house and used a private Facebook group called "Tre giai phong" (Liberation Youth) to recruit more people to gather at Vinh Hoang lake.
Around 1 AM on June 12, 2024, approximately 30 young men allied with Thinh had gathered at Vinh Hoang lake, armed with 2.2-meter-long iron pipes with 20cm blades attached and beer bottles. The "Tre giai phong" group rode motorbikes without helmets, carrying their weapons, speeding, and weaving recklessly through the streets from Vinh Hoang lake and surrounding districts, searching for their rivals.
Another group, led by 17-year-old Thanh Nam, arrived from Vinh Phuc province with four knives and glass bottles. Mistaking the "Tre giai phong" group for their intended targets, they began pursuing them.
Nam and two others on his motorbike approached Thinh and Huy. Huy stabbed them with a pig-sticker knife, and Thinh kicked Nam's motorbike, causing it to crash into the median. Nam and his two passengers, aged 15 and 16, died at the scene.
The "Tre giai phong" group returned to Vinh Hoang lake, hid their weapons, and dispersed. Some of Thinh's associates, unaware of the gathering at the lake, also sought revenge but did not find their rivals. They were charged with disturbing public order, with some receiving suspended sentences. Eight 15-year-olds involved in the initial brawl were not prosecuted but received administrative penalties for disturbing public order.
Hai Thu
