From the case of two brothers who killed people because they thought they were “possessed by ghosts”: Need to add superstitious crimes

On May 12, Ha Giang Provincial Police said that it had just coordinated with the Criminal Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) and Huu Nghi International Border Gate Border Guard Station (Lang Son province) to receive Thao My Say. specially wanted by the Chinese side arrested and handed over.

The Investigation Police Agency of the Provincial Public Security and the Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security received the special wanted object Thao My Say (the person standing in the middle, wearing protective clothing) from the National Border Guard Control Station. Huu Nghi Economic, Lang Son province. (Photo provided by Ha Giang Police).

According to the police agency, Thao My Say (born 1982, in Thang Mo commune, Yen Minh district, Ha Giang province) is specially wanted by the Ha Giang provincial police investigation agency for the act of “murder”. .

Previously, on October 25, 2020, due to a small conflict and superstition, Thao My Say and Thao My Cho beat to death their younger brother, Thao My Sung. After committing the crime, Say took his wife and children to escape; and Thao My Cho was arrested and sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Provincial People’s Court.

The Investigative Police Agency issued a decision on a national arrest of a particularly dangerous type and organized the arrest of Thao My Say. After more than a year, by professional measures, it was discovered that Say was hiding in China. The Investigation Police Agency has coordinated with the Foreign Affairs Department – the Ministry of Public Security to exchange and request the Chinese side to cooperate and successfully arrest.

Talk to PV Infonet About this case, lawyer Hoang Tung – Head of the Trung Hoa Legal Office (Hanoi) assessed: “Thao My Say and Thao My Cho’s behavior was cruel and beat to death the youngest brother, Thao My Sung, because he believed that in Thao My’s body. Worshiping “ghost” shows the barbarism, cruelty and especially the serious lack of understanding of the law of both brothers.

For this act, based on the provisions of Clause 1, Article 123 of the Penal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017) on the crime of murder, Thao My Say and Thao My Cho may be sentenced to imprisonment. from 12 to 20 years, life imprisonment or death penalty if Thao My Sung is under 16 years old. If Thao My Sung is from 16 years old, the prison sentence that can be applied to Thao My Say and Thao My Cho is from 7 years to 15 years.

From this heartbreaking case, lawyer Hoang Tung advised: “The issue of superstition has always been a negative and evil that our Party and State strongly fight and prevent. Superstition is the strong belief in frivolous, ambiguous, untrue or unproven things, leading to bad consequences for individuals, families and communities in terms of health, time, property and even lives.

The phenomenon of superstition is common in the population of many countries, not only in Vietnam. And the only difference between the problem of superstitions in different countries and cultures is in the extent and scope of their influence.

Thao My Say and Thao My Cho just because of their subjective thoughts, without evidence to prove the problem, rushed to kill the youngest brother in the family, causing an intolerable crime along with the family. irreparable consequences. Thao My Say and Thao My Cho had a tendency to be superstitious, believing in frivolous things.

However, the lack of understanding of the law has acted as a “catalyst” for the crime to occur. In the past, there have been murder cases related to superstitious issues such as: The case of practicing “Thien Linh female” in the late 1990s in Dong Thap province; The case of murdering a 5-month-old son in Thanh Hoa in 2011 was attributed to a fortune teller saying “the future is uncertain”; The case of murdering a neighbor because he suspects that the neighbor is a “Ghost of Ngu Hai” to harm his child in Ha Giang in 2021, … It can be seen that most cases have the appearance of superstitious elements. occurs in ethnic minority areas, where socio-economic difficulties remain.

Cases like the above really make the individual lawyer feel both “pitiful” and “reprehensible”, because the perpetrators are too naive, lack of understanding of the law, sometimes commit crimes. without realizing they are committing a crime.

Faith is a wonderful and sacred thing that we need to respect and maintain in our daily lives. However, the line between superstition and belief is very thin, each of us needs to keep our sanity and basic understanding of the law.”

”To raise the awareness of each individual about the law, especially individuals belonging to ethnic minorities, who live in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and are still poor. With limited access to legal knowledge, our Party and State need to be stronger and more urgent in systematizing the propagation and dissemination of legal knowledge to these target groups.

In addition, it is also necessary to consider adjusting and adding a number of crimes related to superstition or simply adding details, the superstitious element becomes one of the increasing circumstances. heavy criminal responsibility”,’ lawyer Hoang Tung expressed his opinion.

Yen River