The two suspects in the murder of six people in a home in southern Vietnam this week deliberately planned to kill all the victims before taking their money and valuables, a police general said this afternoon. Investigators have found sufficient evidence and the suspects, Nguyen Hai Duong and Vu Van Tien, both 24, have confessed to their crime, Lieutenant General Le Quy Vuong told about 100 reporters at a much-awaited press conference in Binh Phuoc Province. The suspects were not present at the conference, which took place just a couple of hours after thousands of people lined up the National Road No. 13 in Chon Thanh District, Binh Phuoc, to watch the funeral procession for the six victims of the murder-robbery on July 7. According to Lt. Gen. Vuong, Duong killed five victims, including Le Van My, 48, his daughter Le Thi Anh Linh, 22, his son Le Quoc Anh, 15, and his two counsins Du Minh Vy, 14, and Du Ngoc To Nhu, 18. Linh was Duong's ex-girlfriend. Tien killed My's wife Nguyen Le … [Read more...] about Binh Phuoc massacre: Suspects planned to murder all victims, general says
Murder
Teenager confesses to raping, drowning 17-year-old girl, invokes convicted murderer
Police in the north central province of Thanh Hoa Monday arrested a teenager for allegedly raping and drowning a teenage girl to death in a river. Le Tuan Anh, 17, confessed to the killing of Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, 17, two days earlier. He told the police he had met Ngoc in a village in Quang Xuong District the same day, became friendly, and asked her to go to the Tinh River where he forcibly raped her. Then he tied her hands and held her head under water until she died. At around 6:30 p.m. the next day a group of children playing by the river bank discovered Ngoc's naked body floating in the water with her hands tied together with a bra. Local residents told police they saw a boy swimming across the river on the evening of August 11. He had then gone to a local house and asked to borrow dry clothes and money, they said. Based on their tipoff, police summoned Anh who was reportedly absent from home since August 11, and he confessed to his crime. They said he did not act anxious at all … [Read more...] about Teenager confesses to raping, drowning 17-year-old girl, invokes convicted murderer
Man cleared of murder charge after 10 years in jail
A man from the northern province of Bac Giang was announced not guilty Saturday after serving ten years in jail on a wrongful murder charge. The announcement from the Ministry of Public Security and the Surpreme People’s Court said investigations had confirmed that Nguyen Thanh Chan did not murder his neighbor Nguyen Thi Hoan, officially clearing Chan’s name after he was released from a life sentence in early November. Chan was released after investigations by his wife Nguyen Thi Chien forced another man to confess to the crime and the supreme court ordered fresh investigations. The woman had spent most of her time since Chan was sentenced petitioning for the release of her husband and collecting evidence to clear his name. She heard the relatives of Ly Nguyen Chung, a 25-year-old local, talk about Chung in relation to the murder. She secretly recorded their conversation and pieced the story together. She then filed a petition to accuse Chung in August. Her evidence forced … [Read more...] about Man cleared of murder charge after 10 years in jail
Searching for the dog-thief murderers
For the past four years, I have edited bizarre and chilling briefs about mob justice throughout the country. All of them seemed so strange, random and unwarranted. Soon, I was addicted to these stories and tried to imagine how they had unfolded. Take, for example, the 2011 story about a small hamlet in Yen Thanh District, Nghe An Province, that beat the stuffing out of a high-school teacher who got lost on his way home. The man’s assailants believed he had come to their village in search of a dog to steal. Today, dog thieving and the violence it engenders have spread to all corners of the country. There doesn’t seem to be anything anyone can do to stop it. Last year, in the northern province of Bac Giang, police arrested 13 people accused of beating a pair of dog thieves, both of whom died of their injuries. All 13 confessed to the crime. Then things got interesting. Hundreds of neighbors signed confessions claiming that they had all played an equal part in the same crime. … [Read more...] about Searching for the dog-thief murderers
Vietnam court reprieves dog thief murderers
Ten dog thief murderers appealed their sentences in the central city of Da Nang on Friday. Photo: Nguyen Tu The Supreme People’s Court has reduced jail terms for six of ten people convicted of beating two suspected dogs thieves to death in the north-central province of Quang Tri. The appeal trial, held in the central city of Da Nang on August 30, drew hundreds of spectators from their village in Quang Tri. Deadly mob justice has grown increasingly common in parts of rural Vietnam that are plagued by rampant dog theft. The defendants, all residents of Nhi Trung Village, Gio Linh District, Quang Tri Province, participated in a fatal vigilante beating on August 29, 2012. According to the indictment, a rash of dog thefts in their hamlets inspired three local men to catch the culprit. Those men were Tran Van Tien, 25, Tran Van Chung, 27, and Nguyen Dang Truong, 29. Early on the morning in question, the trio sat waiting near their village's gate where they spotted two strangers … [Read more...] about Vietnam court reprieves dog thief murderers
Vietnam man fined for cooking up murder story online
A 21-year-old man was fined VND25 million (US$1,185) for inventing a story about a deadly shooting in the north-central province of Quang Binh that went viral on Facebook, scaring the public. The local police said that on February 21, Ngo Dinh So wrote on his Facebook page that after a collision between a truck and a Toyota Camry, the car driver shot the other driver and his assistant. He then fled the scene, leaving his vehicle behind, Son claimed, adding that the killings took place in Dong Hoi Town, the capital city of Quang Binh. In response to people’s doubts, he posted a photo that he claimed was of the scene and information about the murderer, who he said was from Dong Hoi. The post was quickly shared and re-posted on the social networking site that has some 20 million users in Vietnam. As the story spread, it set off alarms among the Dong Hoi populace, prompting the police to step in and investigate. Son confessed to them that he had cooked up the story to achieve a … [Read more...] about Vietnam man fined for cooking up murder story online
Police hunt for suspects in mass murder in northern Vietnam
Police in the northern Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh are hunting for two suspects in the recent murder of four family members, including a sexagenarian woman and her three grandchildren. Doan Trung Dung, 45, from Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh, has been identified as the alleged prime murderer of the four victims, an official from the Ministry of Public Security affirmed on Sunday night. A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper stated that aside from Dung, another suspect is also wanted by police officers. All police units in the province have been tasked with hunting for the two suspects, with the assistance of officers from neighboring localities, including Hai Phong City. According to the case file, Nguyen Thi Hat, 61, and her three grandchildren, Pham Dinh Hung, 9, Pham Thu Ha, 8, and Vu Khanh Huyen, 3, were found dead at their house, with many stabs on their bodies, on Saturday. Vu Thi Thanh, Hat’s daughter and mother of Hung and Huyen, discovered the deceased at … [Read more...] about Police hunt for suspects in mass murder in northern Vietnam
4 jailed for murdering Hanoi hospital director
The four men jailed for murder in Hanoi Wednesday, including Nguyen Quang Dat,(R), in court A Hanoi court Wednesday sentenced four men, including the head of a medical equipment firm, to 17 to 20 years in jail for murdering the director of a local hospital in March over a business-related feud. Nguyen Quang Dat, 53, director of Medical Equipment Trading Company (DY33) got 20 years for the killing of Dao Quang Minh, 50, head of Thanh Nhan Hospital. His brother-in-law Ngo Quang Dung, 38, who hired gangsters to commit the murder, got 19 years. DY33 had a contract with Minh's hospital to supply medical equipment and provide funeral services, for which it paid a commission of 5-15 percent to hospital executives. But last year, after Minh took over as its director, the hospital demanded that the commission be increased by half. The hospital was also delaying payments and renewal of the purchase contract with DY33, prompting Dat to suspect Minh was behind it. In February this year Dung … [Read more...] about 4 jailed for murdering Hanoi hospital director
Failed dog theft attempt escalates to double murder in central Vietnam
Nguyen Van Tien, who briefly served in the military, was arrested on Friday, about 42 hours after the murders in the Central Highlands. Tien confessed that he had not planned the theft in advance, but the idea came to him when he was passing Cuong’s house that night and hearing his dog barking, news website VnExpress reported. He allegedly broke into the neighbor's backyard, where the dog was being chained, carrying a self-made electroshock device. As the dog barked, Cuong, 56, came out of the house and saw Tien. He then forced the invader to follow him into the house, where he questioned him, according to police. When they were inside, Tien stabbed Cuong several times with a knife he was carrying with him in order to escape. Cuong’s family, who were awakened by the noises, rushed to rescue him. During the fight, Tien allgedly killed Cuong and his 18-year-old daughter, while his wife and mother were injured. Thieu Quang Nam, a local police officer, told VnExpress … [Read more...] about Failed dog theft attempt escalates to double murder in central Vietnam
Vietnam police dismiss rumor of murder for organs near China border
The victim's body was cut into pieces, but police rejected the theory that he was killed for organs. Police in the northern province of Cao Bang have shrugged off speculation that a local man was killed for his organs which were then sold to China. Nguyen Van Hong, the police chief, confirmed on Monday that "his organs were not taken away." On September 16, Be Van Tuyen, a guard at an elementary school in Phuc Hoa District, was found dead with his body cut into pieces. The 29-year-old man reportedly went fishing alone earlier. After more than a day of searching, local police collected all his body parts, Hong said. The investigation continues. In August, police in the nearby province of Ha Giang also dismissed rumors that 16 locals had been killed for organs by Chinese groups. Ha Giang police had to address the issue after a warning notice was issued in Lao Cai Province, claiming that 16 Vietnamese, mostly old people and children, were kidnapped and killed for organs in Ha Giang … [Read more...] about Vietnam police dismiss rumor of murder for organs near China border