VietNamNet Bridge – This afternoon, April 5, the Hai Phong People's Court sentenced Doan Van Vuon and his younger brother Doan Van Quy 5 years in prison each for murder.

 

Doan Van Vuon at the court.

Being charged with the same crime, Vuon’s elder brother Doan Van Sinh was sentenced 3 years and 6 months imprisonment. Defendant Doan Van Ve was sentenced to two years in jail.

Subtracting the time they were in detention, Vuon and Quy will be in prison for nearly 3 years and 9 months; Sinh 2 years and 3 months; and Ve only 9 months.

The suspended sentence is applied for defendants Pham Thi Bau (Quy’s wife) and Nguyen Thi Thuong (Vuon’s wife) for opposing against officers on duty, with 18 months’ probation and 36 months of challenge for Bau and 15 months’ probation and 30 months of challenge for Thuong.

According to Judge Pham Duc Tuyen, defendant Vuon admitted in court that he bought guns, told his younger brother Doan Van Quy to make home-made mines and instructed other family members to fight against the land revoking group. "The defendants said that they did not intend to kill others so they willfully made mines that could not detonate gas cylinders and bullets that were not lethal," said the judge.

However, Quy admitted all guilty, saying that he was not instructed by his brother – Doan Van Vuon.

"On the morning of January 5, 2012, the working group did not take any act threatening the property, health, and dignity but Quy and some others opened fire. The behavior of these defendants is not in case of self-defence," said the judgment.

Through this case, Hai Phong People's Court found that the qualification for land management of a number of local officials was limited, resulted in mistakes in land revoking. The court considered this as the extenuating circumstances for the defendants.

In 1993, Vuon was allocated with 21ha of land outside the sea dyke of Quang Vinh commune, Tien Lang district, Hai Phong city to aquaculture for 14 years. During embankment, Vuon is said to illegally occupy more than 19ha.

In April 2009, the district authorities decided to withdraw more than 19ha. Vuon did not agree and filled a lawsuit against Tien Lang district but his petition was rejected. After that, the district administration decided to enforce coercive land acquisition on January 5-6, 2012.

After receiving the notice of the local government, Vuong and his family members discussed measures to keep the land. They talked about building fences, making home-made mines, and using home-made guns to fight against the land acquisition forces during their meals. Vuon’s wife and Quy’s wife are said to be present in these "meetings".

On the morning of January 5, 2012, when the land revoking team entered the lagoon, Quy, Doan Van Thoai and Pham Thai (escape) opened fire, injuring seven officiers.

Compiled by Le Ha