SINGAPORE: A Vietnam court has sentenced a man to death on Wednesday after he mistakenly choked to death his cousin in stead of his girlfriend. A court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Dao Van Con, 26, to death for the crime, arguing that the the crime was premeditated and should have the full force of the law brought down upon the man. But activists in the country have called on the court to reduce the sentence to life in jail. They told Bikyamasr.com that “the death penalty in this case will do nothing to deter these crimes from happening. What needs to happen is the court must make an example and force the man to remain behind bars for the rest of his life,” said Rob Nguiyen, a rights worker in the country battling against the death penalty. “This crime will not make the family's pain easier by killing the man,” he added. According to court records, the 26-year-old man woke his cousin on the evening of October 9, 2010, mistaking her for his girlfriend who was sleeping in the same home, and asking her for sex. His cousin shouted at him and kicked him. In response, he held her mouth and nose shut, suffocating her, according to news reports. The incident happened on the upstairs floor of a cafe in Ho Chi Minh City owned by the cousin, 22, and where Con's 23-year-old girlfriend also worked, online newspaper VnExpress said. Con then stole valuables from the cafe and went on the run with his girlfriend, Thanh Nien newspaper reported. The pair gave themselves up to police after spending all the money. The court gave the waitress five years in jail for failing to report her boyfriend. Con will be executed by lethal injection. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/YxKXb Tags: Death, Murder, Sex, Vietnam Section: Crime, East Asia, Latest News, Women
