The scene of the murder where Nguyen Canh An, 20, cut the taxi driver’s throat to death. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Duong
A 20-year-old youth who cut a taxi driver’s throat in Hanoi last month has been detained under murder chargeds.
Hanoi police have recommended that Nguyen Canh An be charged with murder, which is punishable by death under Vietnam’s Penal Code.
An was arrested on February 3 while playing games at an internet service shop in Hoa Binh Province, around 90 kilometers southwest of Hanoi.
Investigators say An, a native of the central province of Nghe An, is an online game addict. He had left home for Hanoi two months earlier to find a job. When he ran out of money, he planned a robbery.
On January 29, An took a taxi from a bus stop to the My Dinh National Stadium.
As they reached the destination, he suddenly pulled out a knife and attacked the driver from the back seat, cutting his throat. He quickly left the scene without taking anything.
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Nguyen Canh An, 20, will be charged with murder. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Son |
Eyewitnesses said they saw the 26-year-old victim, Nguyen Van Duy, walking out of his car and screaming for help. He collapsed soon after and died of severe blood loss.
From eyewitnesses’ testimony and camera footage, police officers tracked down the suspect and detained An five days later. He has reportedly confessed that he attacked the taxi driver to steal from him. It is not clear why he left the taxi without taking anything.