On October 25, the Hanoi People's Court opened trial against defendant Dang Tran Hoai from Duong Noi Ward in Ha Dong District of Hanoi, for murder, rape and robbery.
The trial of 26-year-old Hoai has attracted the attention of many people because of his extremely cruel behavior and lustful attitude and whose crimes committed in July shocked the country.
During the trial, Hoai kept his head bent and repeatedly complained of suffering from a headache. He even refused to answer all questions of the jury.
However, the trial still went on after the jury affirmed he had no mental problems and was in good health.
According to the jury’s verdict, on July 29, 2012, Dang Tran Hoai, a native of Ha Dong District, wandered on his motorbike along Thang Long Avenue after leaving a wedding party organized in Tu Liem District.
When he was passing the house of 30-year-old K.V.H in a rural area of Son Tay Town, he saw two little girls inside alone with their parents absent at that time. He saw an opportunity to rape the older girl.
He left his bike outside and rushed into the house to rape the 9-year-old girl, the older girl, who screamed in pain but could not be heard by outsiders since it was raining heavily at that time.
Since her 4-year-old sibling cried loudly, Hoai used a knife to slash the child 12 times on the face and neck. The girl later died on way to the hospital.
Hoai then continued raping the older girl, but the victims’ uncle, who lived nearby, finally heard the screams and rushed in and fought with Hoai. Then Hoai stabbed the man and ran onto the street and tried to run away, with only his shirt covering his naked body. During the escape, he tried to rob a motorbike of Tran Thi Oanh but failed. Locals ran after Hoai.
He then stopped a car and got in, but his pursuers rushed up and seized him and handed him over to the police.
In a trial that lasted four hours, the presiding judge, Judge Nguyen Quoc Thanh, on behalf of the Panel sentenced the 26-year-old criminal with two death penalties as he was convicted of rape of a nine-year-old girl and murder of another four-year-old.
Hoai also received a four-year prison sentence for robbing property.
One week before the trial, his family burnt incense to commemorate the victim and paid her family a compensation of VND200 million (US$9,600).
