Teen boy gets 15-year jail sentence for killing girlfriend over jealousy

The court also ordered Huynh Nhat Linh to pay the victim's family VND238 million (US$9,360) in compensation.

According to the indictment, on the morning of Dec. 28 last year, Linh texted his girlfriend and asked her to meet at a shrimp farm hut near their homes.

Around 3 p.m. that day, on her way to the meeting place, the girl met a man named Dam, and borrowed from Dam a phone to call Linh to pick her up.

Over that phone call, Linh overheard Dam inviting his girlfriend to hang out, which made him jealous.

When he finally met his girlfriend, he argued with the girl.

In a fit of anger, Linh restrained the girl, smothered her with a blanket inside the hut until she lost consciousness.

Thinking she was dead, Linh carried her to a river and dumped her body, staging the scene as a suicide.

Local residents discovered the girl's body and reported it to the police.

An autopsy confirmed that the victim died from drowning.

At the time of the crime, Linh was 16 years, 5 months, and 18 days old, while the victim was 12 years, 5 months, and 26 days old.

Prior to sentencing, the defendant expressed remorse, apologized to the victim's family, and requested a reduced sentence.

But the jury board decided that his actions caused particularly severe consequences and significant loss and suffering to the victim's family, warranting a fitting punishment despite his young age.