Proposal to sentence taxi driver who hit and killed urban security guard in Hanoi to life in prison

On the morning of April 8, the Hanoi People's Court brought defendant Trinh Ba Trong (40 years old, from Cam Khe district, Phu Tho) to trial for the crime of "Murder". The victim in this case is VAD (27 years old, security guard of Vinhomes Ocean Park urban area, Gia Lam, Hanoi). In court, Trong said that being prosecuted for the crime of "Murder" was too harsh.

The defendant admitted that he had been drinking alcohol and seeing the security guard chasing him, he was afraid of being beaten so he panicked and lost his composure. When Mr. D. passed, Trong crashed into the victim.

“What was the defendant’s purpose in driving away?” the jury asked. At this time, Trong stated that he was scared and panicked because the security team was chasing him.

“Because the defendant had consumed alcohol, he did not think about the consequences. The defendant realized that his actions were wrong when he consumed alcohol and caused the accident for the victim,” Trong stated, asking the court to consider the circumstances and take responsibility for his mistakes.

The male driver said he did not intentionally hit the victim and did not know how the victim fell, but because his vision was blocked, he could not handle the situation in time.

At court, the defendant Trong’s wife stated that due to difficult family circumstances, she wanted to compensate the victim’s family with 15 million VND. The victim’s family representative did not accept this opinion.

According to the indictment, on March 28, 2023, Trinh Ba Trong drove a taxi to a car repair garage in Vinhomes Ocean Park urban area (Trau Quy town, Gia Lam district, Hanoi) to wash his car. While waiting for the car wash staff, Trong went to a friend's house nearby to eat and drink.

After washing the car, the employee left Trong's car on the street and the security guard locked the wheel. Trong turned around and drove a short distance before discovering that the car had a locked wheel and a flat tire. At this time, the security guard of the urban area appeared and asked Trong to go back to the office to work. There was an exchange of words between Trong and the security guards. After that, Trong drove the car with the flat tire back to the garage to have the tire changed.

The urban security team of 4 people on motorbikes continued to follow Trong, asking him to go to the office, including Mr. D. Seeing Mr. D. going in the same direction ahead, Trong accelerated his car and hit the victim. After the collision, Trong continued driving for more than 30m, hitting a signpost before stopping.

Mr. D. was seriously injured and was taken to the emergency room but did not survive. As for Trong, after committing the crime, he was subdued by the people and security guards. Trong's blood alcohol level was 0.454 mg/l of breath.