In Hanoi, four former policemen convicted of murder were sentenced on September 18 to between eight and seventeen years in prison.
The four former policemen at the trial
At around 12pm on August 30, 2012, Kim No Commune police, in Dong Anh District, received a complaint made by a local resident that his wife, Doan Thi But, was injured by a man named Nguyen Mau Thuan.
The head of the local police station, Nguyen Duc Vong, sent the station deputy, Hoang Ngoc Tuyen, to deal with the situation. Tuyen then asked two other policemen named, Doan Van Tuyen and Hoang Ngoc Thuc, to accompany him to Thuan’s residence to ask the man in question to come to the police station.
At the police station, Thuan insulted Vong, the station head, and was handcuffed. During the questioning about the alleged assault, Thuan was slapped and repeatedly bludgeoned. Thuan remained adamant in his denial of the offence and even contentious, stomping on his chair. Cuffs were then also placed on his legs.
At 4pm on the same day, Thuan died. Postmortem examination of the body showed severe injuries, including broken bones, and respiratory failure.
At the trial, the defendants admitted that their actions had led to Thuan's death.
After the two-day trial, Hoang Ngoc Tuyen was sentenced to 17 years in prison and Nguyen Trong Kien received 16 years. Doan Van Tuyen and Hoang Van Thuc were each sentenced to eight years in prison.
The victim’s family asked for VND1 billion in compensation, but the trial panel agreed on compensation of around VND100 million.
