South Korean national, Lim Young Kwon, at the trial. Photo plo.vn

HCM CITY — A South Korean national, Lim Young Kwon, 42, has been sentenced to death on Thursday by the HCM City People's Court for the murder of his biological father.

According to the indictment, Lim was married to a Vietnamese woman, identified as N.T.M., with whom he shared two children. The family lived together in an apartment in Tân Phú Ward, District 7, HCM City.

On March 10, 2024, a domestic dispute broke out between Lim and his wife. During the altercation, Lim physically assaulted her and killed the family dog. In response, M. took their two children and temporarily left the residence. She then contacted her father-in-law, to tell him what had happened.

Concerned, J. asked his daughter-in-law to book him a flight so he could travel to Việt Nam to speak with his son.

On the afternoon of March 13, J. arrived in HCM City and stayed at the apartment with Lim. That evening, the father and son drank beer together and discussed Lim’s behaviour, with J. advising his son on how to treat his family. Later, they retired to separate bedrooms.

Unable to sleep, Lim became increasingly agitated, resenting his father's intervention and feeling that he had been scolded and that his father had taken his wife's side. Fueled by anger, he decided to kill his father.

He retrieved a knife from the kitchen, entered J.'s room, climbed on top of his sleeping father and repeatedly stabbed him until he died.

After the murder, Lim inflicted knife wounds on his own hands and wrists, then threw the weapon over the balcony. He left the apartment, wandered around and eventually lay down to sleep on a grassy area within the apartment complex.

The next morning, security guards found Lim on the grass, covered in blood. They alerted local police and took him to the hospital for emergency treatment. At the same time, M. and building security discovered the apartment door unlocked and found J. dead just outside the bedroom. — VNS