42 years too late: authorities apologize to innocent murder suspect

Binh Thuan's Police and People's Procuracy on Friday publicly apologized to the family of deceased Vo Te, who was unjustly imprisoned 42 years ago for murder.

At the headquarters of Tan Phuc Commune People's Committee, representatives of the south-central province's police and people's procuracy admitted to Te's unjustified detention.

They stated the mistake served as a powerful lesson to avoid similar mistreatment of innocent people while ignoring real perpetrators.

"Our mistake caused Te and his family a lot of mental and physical pain during his imprisonment and the following years," said Colonel Dinh Kim Lap, deputy chief of Binh Thuan's Police, in apology on behalf of the provincial and district procuracy agencies. "We beg the family's pardon."

Following the public apology, the police and people's procuracy will work with Vo Ngoc, Te's son, to reach an adequate compensation agreement.

Holding a photo of his father, Ngoc said on behalf of the family, he accepted the apology and requested compensation be settled as soon as possible. The family further requested authorities to probe those responsible for the wrongful confinement.

Forty-two years ago, Phan Thi Khanh, 26, was killed and robbed of 1.6 taels of gold in Village 3, Tan Minh commune, Ham Tan district.

Te, who lived around 300 meters from the scene, was then prosecuted and arrested by Ham Tan district police on charges of murder and robbery. However, he was freed five months later due to insufficient evidence.

His entire family was subsequently humiliated and ostracized following his imprisonment. All of Te's children had to drop out of school, while he died in 1994 after a protracted illness, still carrying the identity of guilt.

Do Thanh Anh, victim Phan Thi Khanh's son, filed an application with Binh Thuan's police two years ago, accusing the true perpetrator of murdering his mother. Since then, Ngoc had been advised by a number of attorneys on how to file a petition proving Te's innocence.

Last year, Binh Thuan's police worked with the Ministry of Public Security to locate Truong Dinh Chi in Phu Yen province, who admitted to murdering Khanh.

Although Chi was arrested, Binh Thuan police were unable to carry out criminal proceedings against him since the time limit for criminal prosecution had expired.

In 2019, Chu Quang Hung from Ho Chi Minh City asked authorities to pay him VND99 billion ($4.26 million) for the physical and mental damage he had suffered from 390 days in jail. The apology only came 24 years after his wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

In 1998, Huynh Van Nen of Binh Thuan province was falsely imprisoned for life. He was the first and only person in Vietnam’s judicial history to be wrongfully charged with two murders.

He was released 17 years later and received a public apology from the People’s Court of Binh Thuan after they found the real murderer. Nen was finally compensated with VND10 billion ($430,000).