Đà Nẵng police released a social media post mocking public sympathy for a recently condemned man.
The Latest: On Oct. 12, the Facebook page of the Thanh Khê Ward Police in Đà Nẵng posted an article and an AI-generated image mocking public sympathy for death row defendant Nguyễn Đức Anh.
- Many individuals expressed sympathy over an image of the defendant turning to look for his family in the courtroom.
- The first-instance verdict for the defendant is still within its appeal period.
Police Facebook Post: The police department published a post titled, “DON’T LET COMPASSION OVERRIDE JUSTICE!”
- The post objected to the public sympathy shown for Nguyễn Đức Anh, arguing that expressing compassion for the defendant could cause people to forget the pain of the victims’ family.
The social media post also included an AI-generated image of two people sitting at a sidewalk café, crying as they hold their phones.
- Both figures have spiral curls and a golden halo behind their heads, evoking images of the Buddha.
- Above the figures are two comment boxes styled like Facebook interfaces, complete with emoji reactions. One reads, “So sad,” while the other reads, “Poor kid!! Boohoo.”
- The post invoked Buddhist teaching, stating, “Buddhism values compassion but also reminds people of cause and effect and responsibility. Sympathy does not mean denying the consequences.”
- The page concluded the post by asserting, “The sentence Nguyễn Đức Anh must receive is not only a judgment on an unlawful act but also a stern reminder that justice must be served and the law must be upheld!”
Comments and Reactions: The post resonated with many commenters who agreed with the police and mocked the “compassion” shown to the defendant.
- An account named Thiên*** wrote, “I used to know only the Như Lai Buddha; now I’ve learned there are many ‘On Lai’ (online) Buddhas. Instead of going to the pagoda on the full moon, can we bring incense, lamps, and flowers to the doorsteps of these ‘Online Buddhas’ and chant prayers for them?”
- This comment received 15 likes.
At approximately 9 a.m. on Oct. 13, the post displayed about 1,400 reactions and 134 comments.
The Background: On Oct. 6, the Đồng Nai City People’s Court sentenced 21-year-old Nguyễn Đức Anh, a resident of Hố Nai Ward, to death for killing a woman and her two children.
- He was additionally sentenced to six years in prison for the illegal use of military weapons.
- The court ordered him to pay more than 1.132 billion đồng (about $43,000) in compensation.
- The trial panel found his conduct “utterly inhumane, beyond any capacity for education or rehabilitation.”
Why It Matters: Việt Nam currently maintains the death penalty for 10 crimes, though the government is in the process of amending the law to reduce that number to four.
- Because execution figures in Việt Nam are classified as state secrets, the only available statistics come from independent outside organizations.
Amnesty International’s Death Sentences and Executions 2025 report, published May 17, found that there were at least 138 death sentences issued in Việt Nam in 2025.
- Of those sentences, 100 were for drug offenses, and the total included three women and four foreign nationals.
- The report also found that at least 1,200 people were on death row in the country as of the end of 2025.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on October 13, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
