The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court convicted Nguyen Thanh Son, 52, for the murder of 55-year-old Nguyen Maria, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in jail under Vietnam’s Penal Code. Murders deemed heinous are punishable by death.
The court explained its decision to award a commuted sentence to Son by saying he had shown remorse for his act, paid compensation to the victim’s family and contributed to the nation’s public security sector through his service.
According to the indictment, Son met with the Australian woman in February last year on the social media. Three months later, she came to Vietnam and they began living together in a rented house in Binh Thanh District. They got married in August.
On the night of September 2, the couple had an angry argument and Maria is said to have berated Son and insulted his family. Then, she took a pair of scissors and stabbed him in his belly before asking him to get out of the house. Enraged, Son strangled his wife to death, the indictment said.
After killing his wife, Son allegedly tried to commit suicide by electrocuting himself, but failed.
Son admitted his crime in the court on Friday. He said his wife frequently shouted at him, and he could not restrain himself from retaliating as she stabbed him and asked him to get out of the house.