The Supreme People’s Court yesterday ( March 30 ) maintained the 18-year sentence for Le Van Luyen, the murderer of three people in a jewelry shop robbery in the northern province of Bac Giang in August 2011.
Luyen escaped the capital sentence because he was not yet 18 years old at the time and the maximum sentence for him is just 18 years.
Like the first instance trial last January, thousands of local people surrounded the court.
More than 300 policemen and soldiers were mobilized to keep order at the trial. They shouted in protest when Luyen showed a calm attitude when the court reviewed his crime, he killed the gold shop’s owner and his wife and one of their two daughters, and chopped off an arm of the other daughter of the couple.
The lawyer who defended the victims’ family’s rights and interests, told the court that many details in the case needed to be clarified to conclude whether or not Luyen, an underage, had acted alone in the murder.
The lawyer then requested the court cancel the trial and refer the case back to the investigation agency for an additional probe.
However, the court prosecutor affirmed that the investigation results showed that Luyen was the sole culprit in the killing.
Thus the court announced that the Supreme Court maintained the sentence for
Luyen but ordered him to pay an additional damage of VND30 million (US$1,440) to the victims’ family.
The court also rejected the appeals of all the defendants who wanted their sentences reduced.
