VietNamNet Bridge – The HCM City People's Court yesterday (Dec 25) sentenced Ho Duy Truc, 20, to death for the attempted theft of a luxury motorbike from a woman whose arm he slashed with a knife during an incident last year.

The court sentenced Ho Duy Truc and his accomplices.

The robbery occurred on Phu My Bridge at night, which connects the city's District 2 to District 7.

The court also sentenced the man's accomplices, Tran Van Luong, 25, of southern Ben Tre Province, to life imprisonment; Nguyen Hoang Phuong, 20, of central Ninh Thuan Province, to 20 years; Huynh Thanh Son, 31, of southwestern Tay Ninh Province, to 18 years; and Tran Thanh Tuyen, 22, of Ninh Thuan Province, and Huynh Bao Anh, 45, of HCM City, to 12 years each.

Nine-month jail sentences were given to Cao Danh Hung, 30, and Dam Van Vo, 23, both of central Nghe An Province.

According to the court, Truc and his accomplices were "extremely brutal and caused serious consequences by ignoring the law and life of others".

On November 24, 2012, the gang divided into two groups with the aim of stealing motorbikes, according to police.

While travelling from District 7 to District 2, the group noticed Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy driving a luxury, Italian-made SH motorbike on Phu My Bridge.

As Thuy was crossing the bridge, the gang, who were on motorbikes, tried to cut her arm off by driving in front of her, forcing her to stop.

One of them then slashed her arm with a knife, causing her to crash. The knife wound, which was very deep, was later repaired by surgeons. But she no longer has full use of her arm, according to doctors.

The men were unable to start her motorbike, however, so they left it on the bridge. They took her handbag and ran away.

The woman began screaming for help, and local security guards and police arrived. They chased the men and caught them soon afterward.

According to police, Truc and the men had been involved in a total of 17 thefts of motorbikes, money, gold and cellphones, worth a total of VND610 million (US$28,934), in HCM City's districts 2, 7, Nha Be and Binh Chanh.

Source: VNS