Trần Đức Đô's funeral. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Criminal Investigation Agency of Region 3 (Military Zone 1) has announced their conclusion that recruit Trần Đức Đô suffocated by hanging himself.

Trần Đức Đô, a recruit of Battalion 4, Company 14, University of Science and Technology, Military Region 1, died on June 28, at the training field of Military School of Military Region 1 in Phú Bình District, Thái Nguyên Province.

According to earlier information provided by the Ministry of National Defence, the 19-year-old was found hanging from a tree behind a hill about 50m from the training venue on June 28. He was rushed to a local hospital and was announced dead at 3.30pm.

Trần Đức Hội, Đô’s father, said he found injuries on his son’s head, face, back and chest.

His family and others had expressed anger about the unusual circumstances surrounding Đô's death and asked the authorities to investigate the case.

The investigative agency asked the Criminal Technical Division of Thái Nguyên Provincial Police to examine the body for a forensic examination to determine the cause of death, death time, and causes for the marks on his body.

The investigating agency also requested the Military Forensic Institute and the Institute of Criminal Science (Ministry of Public Security) to examine other factors, including toxic substances in the organs, histopathological status in the organs and skin muscle, blood alcohol concentration, and test for drugs.

On July 1 the Military Forensic Institute said they found no toxic substances in Đô’s organ samples, no drugs in his blood and no ethanol.

Regarding the cause of death, the Criminal Technical Department, Thái Nguyên Provincial Police, said: "The cause of death of soldier Trần Đức Đô was suffocation due to hanging. The time to death after the last meal was from two to three hours, and the time to death to the time of autopsy was from six to eight hours."

The department said the cause of the marks on Đô’s body was hanging and interaction with objects with uneven surfaces.

The investigative agency took the testimonies of all officers, recruits, staff involved in the field trip training of Company 14 and some testimonies of the soldiers who trained recruits in Regiment 2.

The testimonies all confirmed that there were no signs of disunity, assault or fighting in the unit. Most of the officers and recruits said Đô was quiet, didn’t violate disciplinary rules and didn’t have any conflicts with anyone.

The inspection found no evidence that Đô was incited, coerced or humiliated, nor did it find any conflict within the unit or his family. Investigators also found no evidence he had had gambling debts or other kinds of debts and no signs that beatings or assaults had occurred.

The scratches on soldier Đô's body were determined to have been caused by hanging and the process of cutting the rope to bring him down for first aid, causing a collision with the tree trunk.

The investigation agency found enough grounds to conclude that no crime had occurred.

The Criminal Investigation Agency of Region 3, Military Zone 1, therefore issued a decision not to launch criminal proceedings in regards to the death. — VNS