>> Did wife have accomplices in journalist husband’s murder?
Following a fresh investigation into the alleged burning death of her husband by Tran Thuy Lieu, 40, last January, the Long An Province police have reiterated their earlier conclusion she had acted alone, a source said.
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| Tran Thuy Lieu at her husband\'s funeral ceremony Photo: Tuoi Tre |
In February Lieu told the police that she had killed her husband Le Hoang Hung by herself at their home in Tan An town. In July the police petitioned the provincial People’s Procuracy to prosecute her for murder, rejecting speculation that someone had helped her in the evil deed.
But on August 5 the victim’s mother, Nguyen Thi Kim Nga, requested the prosecutors to refer the case back to the police for a fresh investigation since a number of issues remained unclear.
One of them was that the evidence collected at the crime scene did not dovetail with Lieu’s confession. For instance, the quantity of gasoline she allegedly used to burn Hung was not the same as in her confession.
Besides there was no apparent motive for the murder since, according to Lieu’s relatives, relations between the couple had been amicable.
Importantly, an examination of the crime scene had found that the mattress on which Hung had been lying burst into fire at two places at the same time.
The police began their reinvestigation on August 29 and concluded that there were no signs that someone had assisted Lieu in the killing.
On January 19 Hung, 51, was sleeping alone in a bedroom when Lieu went out to the balcony, tied a rope to the railing, and let it fall to the ground.
She returned to her room, got some petrol, a newspaper, and a lighter, walked into Hung’s room, poured the petrol on the mattress, set fire to the newspaper, and threw it on the mattress.
Hung died 10 days later in a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.
He was a journalist for Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper covering social, underworld, and anti-corruption issues.
Le Hoang Hung, who was a journalist for Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper covering social, underworld, and anti-corruption issues (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
