Patient who held drug-fuelled parties at a psychiatric hospital sentenced to death in Vietnam

Bethany Dawson in Insider, 9/4/22

• Two people in Vietnam have been sentenced to death for operating a drug ring from a  psychiatric hospital.
• Nguyen Xuan Quy turned his room in the hospital into a rave den, with strobe lights and DJ decks. 
• He would bring drugs and sex workers into the hospital and host parties for patients and staff members.

Two people in Vietnam have been sentenced to death after they were convicted of dealing MDMA, ketamine, and methamphetamine from a psychiatric hospital.

On August 31, the Hanoi People's Court ruled that 39-year-old Nguyen Xuan Quy would be executed for crimes related to the buying, selling, organizing, using, and possessing of illegal drugs, Vice reported.

His accomplice, Nguyen Van Ngoc, was also sentenced to death after being convicted of two counts of drug trafficking.

 Quy, who entered Hanoi's Central Psychiatric Hospital in 2018, ingratiated himself with the staff and had free reign at the hospital, according to local reports.

Investigators said that hospital administrators allowed him to convert a treatment room into a mini-rave club. When police raided the hospital, they found the room was soundproofed and kitted out for parties with strobe lighting, DJ decks, and large speakers, said local reports. He occasionally brought sex workers to the drug-fuelled parties, attended by patients and hospital staff.

Quy would also ply the drugs to recovering addicts at the hospital, who would then deal drugs for him to people outside.

Customers for Quy's drugs, according to local reports, would arrive at the hospital and often pretended to be caregivers for patients.

Reports state that Quy was able to smuggle the drugs in to the hospital after bribing Do Thi Luu, former department head of the hospital, with a monthly payoff of VND10 million ($426.21). 

Although Luu denied her involvement, she was sentenced to three years in prison for abuse of power, reports said.

The head of the hospital, Vuong Van Tinh, was relieved of his position following the scandal. Two nurses and a hospital technician were also convicted and received prison sentences.

Quy had a history of mental illness, but the court concluded he was of sound mind and should be held responsible for his actions.

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[Nguyễn Xuân Quý]