70 gangsters in a fight in Phu Quoc said "regret, please show leniency"

On the afternoon of January 28, after a week of trial, 70 people who caused the land protection riot in Phu Quoc were given the final say before the court deliberated.

The only person proposed by the People's Procuracy to be sentenced to death for the crimeKillingandIllegal storage, transportation, purchase, sale, and use of military weapons,Doan Thien Long, 23 years old (who directly shot and killed two people) expressed remorse and apologized to the victim's family. "During my detention, the defendant has thought clearly about his actions. I respectfully ask the jury to give me a chance to return to my family, take care of my elderly parents and start my life over," Long said.

Doan Thien Long is one of the gangsters that Nguyen Van Thai, aka Thai Bus, joined in a "4 billion VND protection contract" to have the person who is disputing the 2.2 hectare land come to measure. The group including Long, Thai, Pham Anh Hieu, Bui Duc Ngoc, Nguyen Quoc Vinh, Vo Van Luong, Nguyen Van Qua and many others met at the house of the boss Bui Minh Trung, aka Trung Ca Mau.

At noon on October 27, 2022, more than 50 gangsters drove 12 cars, carrying machetes, 3 guns... to the disputed land plot to carry out their plan, but a clash broke out between the Nong Truong gang and Khuc Van Doai (a local influencer, one of the two sides disputing the land plot). Doan Thien Long used homemade guns to shoot at the opposing group, killing 2 people and injuring many others.

The People's Procuracy accused Thai Bus, Long, Ngoc, and Hieu of being the masterminds and leaders, and proposed that the People's Court sentence them to life in prison.

Having the last word, Bui Duc Ngoc, Long's senior, also apologized to the victims' families, hoping the court would give him a light sentence so he could soon have a chance to start his life over. As for Thai Bus, in addition to apologizing to the victims' families, the gangster boss hoped that when he was released from prison, he would take care of the victims' parents.

Meanwhile, Pham Anh Hieu said he "did his best to prevent the fight" but the consequences were beyond his control. Hieu hopes to have his sentence reduced, receive a fixed-term sentence, and return to his family and start his life over.

Accused of being an accompliceKillingWith the proposed sentence of 18-20 years in prison, the boss Bui Minh Trung said he was very regretful, because of just one minute of mistake, he paid a huge price. "I respectfully hope that the panel of judges will consider allowing the defendant to return to his family soon, to be released to do good work for the province and for society," Trung said and mentioned many previous business and investment activities in Kien Giang, along with cherished projects that have not been implemented.

The remaining defendants mostly said the same thing, expressing remorse and asking for light sentences.

Previously, the People's Procuracy proposed 45 defendants in Long's gang to be sentenced to 5-20 years in prison. 13 gangsters in the Farm group (the side that responded to the melee) were proposed to be sentenced to the highest of 3-4 years in prison, the lowest of 2 years suspended sentence. 6 defendants were prosecuted for the crime ofConcealing a criminalrecommended 18-24 months in prison and at least 6 months suspended sentence.

The court deliberated for a long time and will give its verdict on January 31.

The disputed land was originally reclaimed and cultivated by Mr. Nguyen Van Khieu many years ago. He sold it to Khuc Van Doai for 11 billion VND, but Doai only paid 1.1 billion VND and did not pay any more; he divided the land into lots and sold it to many people to build houses, including Nguyen Van Truong (a member of the Nong Truong gangster group).

Mr. Khieu could not get his money back, so he asked Nguyen Thi Bich Chi, Nguyen Van Tuan, and Do Thi Anh Huong (lawyer) to settle the matter with an advance payment of 250 million VND and 50% of the land value when the work was completed. According to the plan, Huong would complete the procedures to reissue the land papers for Mr. Khieu, which required measuring and determining the location. However, when Huong and Chi brought people to measure, they were prevented by Doai and Truong. They asked Thai Bus' group to protect them, fence the land, and assign people to guard until the measurement and paperwork were completed, then a fight broke out.