Mark Wahlberg Gets ‘Pardon’ From Vietnamese Man, Johnny Trinh, That He ‘Blinded’

Mark Wahlberg was “pardoned” by the Vietnamese man he beat, “blinded” and uttered racial slurs against. Johnny Trinh, the man the actor injured as a teenager, is now saying that he actually lost his eye to a beating issued by Communists.

When Mark Wahlberg was 16 and growing up in Boston, he punched Johnny Trinh in the eye and beat another Vietnamese man “around the head.” As he fled during after attempting to steal alcohol, Wahlberg knocked Trinh to the ground and shouted a racial slur at the injured man. The actor served 45 days in jail for the crime and vowed to turn his life around after being released from his cell.

The Daily Mail tracked down the Vietnamese man Mark Wahlberg thought he had blinded in one eye. Johnny Trinh told the media outlet that he actually has no idea who the individual was who blinded him, said that he forgave Wahlberg, and wanted to meet the actor.

Johnny Trinh, 59, is now a married and a father. He said that he lost the eye before the Mark Wahlberg beating when he served alongside American soldiers fighting Communists in Vietnam. For the past 26 years, the actor thought he had left the man blind in one eye.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Wahlberg has asked for a pardon from the felony charge so that he could work more closely with law enforcement. Until the request for a pardon by the actor last week, Trinh had not spoken publicly about the 1988 assault. He reportedly chose to break his silence in order to let the movie star know that he had not caused him any serious harm. Until contacted by the Daily Mail, Johnny Trinh was unaware that his attacker had become famous.

“I was not blinded by Mark Wahlberg. He did hurt me, but my left eye was already gone. He is not responsible for that. I would like to see him get a pardon. He should not have the crime hanging over him any longer,” Johnny Trinh said about the Mark Wahlberg assault. “He paid for his crime when he went to prison. I am not saying that it did not hurt when he punched me in the face, but it was a long time ago. He has grown up now. I am sure he has his own family and is a responsible man.”

Johnny Trinh was born with the first name Hoa – but goes by the more American-sounding first name. He lives in a duplex in Texas. Boston court records indicate that Mark Wahlberg hit Trinh with a five foot long wooden stick, knocking the Vietnamese man unconscious. After hiding from an approaching police cruiser, Wahlberg reportedly punched Trinh in the eye.

Mark Wahlberg is engaged in a host of charity work, including the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, which aids at risk teenagers.

Do you think Mark Wahlberg should be pardoned for the attack on Johnny Trinh?

[Image via: Debby Wong/Shutterstock.com]