The Binh Phuoc Province People’s Court has given a life sentence to 30-year-old Le Ba Mai, who was twice sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a teen girl in 2004, but was acquitted seven years later for lack of evidence. After two days of hearing, the court this morning gave Mai two sentences, one of them is the life sentence for murder and the other is the 18-year sentence for raping. Therefore, the combined penalty for Mai is actually the life imprisonment sentence. The court also ordered Mai to pay VND81 million (US$3,900) to the victim’s family. Before the court announced the two sentences to him, Mai told the court that did not rape and kill the girl. He said he is innocent, so any sentences to him are unreasonable and unacceptable. He also said he would not be responsible for paying any compensation since he is innocent. The hearing was opened since the Supreme People’s Court cancelled the acquittal in June 2012 and ordered a re-investigation of the case in which Mai was charged to rape and kill 11-year-old girl, Thi Ut. The body of the girl was discovered in a garden in An Khuong Commune, Hon Quang District, on November 14, 2004. Mai was suspected to be the murderer and was detained later. The Binh Phuoc Province People’s Court opened the first instance trial for Mai in 2005, sentencing him to death for raping and then strangling Thi Ut to death.

Mai appealed the verdict, and in August 2005, the Supreme People’s Court turned down Mai’s appeal, maintaining his sentence, but the Supreme People’s Procurary later protested the court’s judgment, demanding that the case be re-considered.

In February 2007, the Supreme People’s Court’s Jury Panel accepted the protest, canceled the sentence, and requested that the case be re-investigated.

The Binh Phuoc Province People’s Court opened a re-trial for Mai on May 24, 2011, and ultimately announced that Mai was not guilty and set him free immediately.

However, the provincial court protested the verdict in mid-2011, demanding that an appeal trial be opened yet again for him.

On May 18, 2012 the provincial police, under a decision of the appeal court of the Supreme People’s Court in HCMC, detained Mai once again.