Cancellation of first instance verdict related to chicken delivery girl's mother

According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Dien Bien province, the case has 5 defendants including: Vi Thi Thu (born in 1982), Vi Van Toan (born in 1982), Bui Van Cong (born in 1975), Luong Van Hung (born in 1991) and Tran Thi Hien (born in 1975), all with permanent residence in Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province. In May 2017, Tran Thi Hien met Bui Van Cong to buy 4 heroin cakes. Cong offered 160 million VND/cake and Hien agreed. Then, Cong went to find Vi Thi Thu to place an order at 600 million VND for 4 heroin cakes. Thu went to the Vietnam - Laos border but was only able to buy 2 cakes, brought them back and hid them in the bed, and told her husband Vi Van Toan to look after them. At the end of May 2017, Bui Van Cong invited Luong Van Hung to Vi Thi Thu's house to get heroin to deliver to Tran Thi Hien. Upon arrival, Cong and Hung bought a package of heroin from Vi Thi Thu and Vi Van Toan to use first. When Bui Van Cong delivered the 2 heroin cakes to Tran Thi Hien, Ms. Hien gave 290 million VND and owed 30 million VND.

Previously, at the first instance trial held on November 27, 2019, the People's Court of Dien Bien province sentenced: Defendant Tran Thi Hien to 20 years in prison; Defendant Bui Van Cong to 20 years in prison; Defendant Vi Thi Thu to life in prison; Defendant Luong Van Hung to life in prison for the crime of "Illegal trading of narcotics"; Defendant Vi Van Toan to life in prison for the crimes of "Illegal trading of narcotics" and "Concealing illegal use of narcotics". However, defendants Tran Thi Hien and Vi Thi Thu have filed an appeal to the High People's Court in Hanoi. The appeal hearing was postponed three times on June 15, 2020, January 28, 2021 and July 14, 2021.

At this trial, in addition to the defendants Vi Thi Thu and Tran Thi Hien, the Trial Panel also summoned additional defendants who did not appeal but were related to the case: Bui Van Cong, Vi Van Toan and Luong Van Hung and other persons with related obligations to participate in the proceedings. After checking the background of the defendants and related persons summoned to court, the Trial Panel conducted a public interrogation of the defendants. During the interrogation, defendant Vi Thi Thu only admitted to selling 4 pink pills to Bui Van Cong and said that the investigation agency forced her to accept the sale of 2 heroin cakes with Bui Van Cong. Defendant Tran Thi Hien did not admit the accusation and said she did not know Bui Van Cong.

After the trial, the Trial Panel determined that the first instance verdict against Vi Thi Thu was the right person and the right crime. As for the defendant Tran Thi Hien, the Trial Panel found that there were still many unclear details, including the defendants' statements regarding Tran Thi Hien's criminal acts, which were ambiguous and contradictory. The Trial Panel believed that while the defendant Tran Thi Hien did not admit her guilt, in addition to using the statements of other defendants, the authorities should collect evidence and documents that the first instance prosecution agency had not yet done.

At the conclusion of the trial, the Trial Panel announced to accept the appeal of the defendant Tran Thi Hien, annull the decision on the crime and punishment in the first instance judgment of the People's Court of Dien Bien province dated November 27, 2019; transfer the case file to the People's Procuracy of Dien Bien province for re-investigation.

For defendant Vi Thi Thu, the Trial Panel decided not to accept the appeal, upholding the decision on the crime and punishment in the first instance judgment of the People's Court of Dien Bien province. In addition, for defendants who did not appeal, the Trial Panel upheld the decisions in the first instance judgment.

According to VNA