On 18/6, the Hanoi People's Court tried 17 youths involved in the case on charges of murder and disturbing public order.

Among the 8 individuals charged with murder, Nguyen Van Phu, who was 16 years and 4 days old at the time of the crime, received the heaviest sentence of 12 years in prison. Dinh Huy Hoang, who was 15 years, 6 months, and 5 days old when the crime occurred, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The remaining defendants received sentences ranging from an 18-month suspended sentence to 10 years in prison for either of the two charges.

Most of the defendants were 15-17 years old, either students in 9th or 10th grade or had dropped out to work as freelance laborers. They resided in Phuc Tho and O Dien communes.

The defendants in court. Photo: Danh Lam

According to the indictment, around 8:30 PM on 27/11/2025, the group from Phuc Tho commune rode multiple motorcycles without helmets, traveling at high speed, continuously honking, and swerving. This caused chaos along a long stretch of road from Phuc Tho commune towards Dan Phuong.

During their ride, the defendants' group had a conflict with another group of youths, who threw bricks and splashed water at them. Provoked, the defendants decided to gather bricks and stones to "settle scores" with their opponents.

The situation became more complicated when the Phuc Tho group met another group of friends from the same commune who were also "cruising the streets." They merged, forming a convoy ready for confrontation.

Concurrently, the group of youths from O Dien commune, including Hoang and Phu, were also "burning up the streets" in the opposite direction on 4 motorcycles.

When the two groups from Phuc Tho and O Dien communes met in the Con Ca cemetery area within Dan Phuong district, insults and challenges erupted. Two youths from the Phuc Tho group continuously swerved and waved provocatively.

Meanwhile, another unidentified youth on a red Wave motorcycle, whose affiliation was unclear, also continuously swerved and waved provocatively at the Phuc Tho group.

Believing this youth belonged to the O Dien side, the Phuc Tho group called out to each other to chase him, leading to the immediate confrontation.

Seeing their opponents turn back to chase and attack, the O Dien group proactively stopped their motorcycles at the Phung Hung cemetery intersection to set up an ambush.

Here, the defendants dismounted their motorcycles, gathered bricks and stones from the roadside as weapons, and positioned themselves at strategic locations, including the median strip and sidewalk, to await the Phuc Tho group.

When the Phuc Tho group's motorcycles approached, a hail of bricks and stones began to fall. In the chaos, defendant Hoang threw a decorative paving brick, hitting the motorcycle of Thang, 17 years old, from the opposing group.

Immediately after, defendant Phu also rushed into the middle of the road, using another brick to throw directly at Thang's head at close range, causing him to lose consciousness and die the next day. Others continued to throw bricks towards the fleeing convoy.

After the incident, the defendants' families voluntarily compensated Thang's family a total of 450 million dong. The victim's mother also submitted a petition requesting a reduced sentence for the defendants.

Hai Thu