A court in southern Vietnam on Wednesday sentenced eight guards at a compulsory drug rehab center to up to nine years in jail for killing a patient whom they accused of organizing an escape for others.
The People's Court of Dong Nai handed out the heaviest penalty to Nguyen Duc Dung, 42, who handcuffed the patient and tortured him most severely.
The others, including the head of the guard team, received between two years and eight years' imprisonment.
The patient, identified only as Dung, then 40, was sent to the Social Labor Education Center of Dong Nai Province by his family for drug rehabilitation.
On January 31, 2013, Dung and 15 others, armed themselves with working tools, staged a riot during which they tried to escape the center.
But their attempt was thwarted by the guards, who accused Dung of inciting the riot and encouraging others to escape. They handcuffed him and tortured him with stun guns and batons, causing his death.
They court ruled that the guards would have to compensate the patient’s family VND459 million (US$21,000).