A knifeman who went on a rampage and attacked strangers in Birmingham declared he did not want to return to his own country. Hieu Nguyen slashed at four people in the Hawthorn Road area of Kingstanding at around 6.30am on March 22 last year.
A woman suffered a wound to her arm but the three other victims avoided serious injury. The paranoid schizophrenic had stopped taking his medication, Birmingham Crown Court heard. An element of mystery surrounded Vietnamese national Nguyen, of no fixed address, including his age. It was suspected he was at least in his mid 20s.
He was sentenced to a hospital order on Thursday, May 21, having previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, three offences of attempted wounding with intent as well as possession of a knife in public. Judge Tom Rochford told him: 'You wish to return to Vietnam. I hope the sentence I propose does not prevent that taking place if you can be safely returned to Vietnam. That would seem sensible and I would anticipate, while not a matter of medical evidence, it would assist your mental health and sense of wellbeing.'
At that point Nguyen, speaking via an interpreter, said: 'I don't wish to return to Vietnam.' Prosecutor Sarah Slater told the court that police attended the scene in Kingstanding on March 22 last year and were 'very swiftly' able to arrest him. He was assessed as not fit to be interviewed back at the police station.
The woman who suffered a knife wound to the elbow said the injury affected her ability to carry out day-to-day activities at work. She also described feeling scared about having to go out to catch public transport in the mornings. Nguyen was jailed in 2016 and again in 2021 for offences of producing cannabis. He originally came to the UK looking for his mother.
Dr Younus Saleem, an NHS consultant psychiatrist, told the court Nguyen had a history of psychotic illness characterised by hallucinations, disorganised behaviour, emotional irregularity, impaired judgement, impulsivity and aggressive behaviour. He said he would continue to pose a high risk of danger to himself and other people without treatment in the structured environment of a mental health facility.
Dr Saleem said if he was to remain at large he would likely repeat his behaviour which could have 'potential serious and fatal consequences'. He added: 'It's a matter of luck nobody was fatally injured on this day.' The expert confirmed there was a mechanism to deport offenders back to their native countries from mental health facilities, but he described it as a 'protracted process'.
Judge Rochford said Nguyen's latest stance on not wanting to return to Vietnam did not influence his decision to sentence him to a hospital order with a restriction order concerning his eventual release. He also acknowledged Nguyen's view on the issue may change in the future. The judge told him: 'You suffer from long-standing paranoid schizophrenia. That has in the past been well controlled by medication. As the court sees in so many of these cases, when the medication ceases the illness becomes problematic and you were not complying with your medication in March last year. When you committed these offences it would seem part of your motivation was a belief if you stabbed somebody you might be returned to Vietnam.'
