May a person who is aged under 18 and steals another person's property in Vietnam face an imprisonment penalty? May a person sentenced to imprisonment for theft of property receive a suspended sentence?
May a person who is aged under 18 and steals another person's property in Vietnam face an imprisonment penalty?
According to Article 12 of the Criminal Code 2015 amended by Clause 3 Article 1 of the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code 2017, regulations regarding the age of criminal responsibility are as follows:
Age of criminal responsibility
1. A person from 16 years of age and above shall bear criminal responsibility for every crime, except for those otherwise prescribed by this document.
2. A person from 14 years of age to be low 16 years of age shall bear criminal responsibility for very serious crimes and extremely serious crimes specified in Articles 123, 134, 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 151, 168, 169, 170, 171, 173, 178, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 265, 266, 286, 287, 289, 290, 299, 303, 304 hereof.
Thus, according to the above regulations, there will be three scenarios for a person who is aged under 18 and steals another person's property:
- Firstly, if the person who steals another person's property is aged 16 and above, he/she will bear criminal responsibility for their actions.
- Secondly, if the person who steals another person's property is aged between 14 and less than 16, he/she will only bear criminal responsibility for theft of property if it is a very serious or particularly serious crime.
- Thirdly, if the person who steals another person's property is under 14 years old, he/she will not face criminal prosecution.
May a person who is aged under 18 and steals another person's property in Vietnam face an imprisonment penalty? May a person sentenced to imprisonment for theft of property in Vietnam receive a suspended sentence? (Image from the Internet)
May a person sentenced to imprisonment for theft of property in Vietnam receive a suspended sentence?
According to Article 2 of Resolution 02/2018/NQ-HDTP, amended and supplemented by points a, point b Clause 1 Article 1 of Resolution 01/2022/NQ-HDTP, the conditions for a person sentenced to imprisonment to receive a suspended sentence are specified as follows:
Conditions for a person sentenced to imprisonment to receive a suspended sentence
A person sentenced to imprisonment can be considered for a suspended sentence if they meet all the following conditions:
1. The imprisonment sentence does not exceed 03 years.
2. The person sentenced to imprisonment demonstrates good character, meaning apart from this crime, they comply with policies, laws, and fulfill all civic duties at their place of residence or workplace.
a) For those previously convicted but considered as having no criminal record, those who have had their criminal record expunged, or those administratively sanctioned or disciplined, and it has been sufficiently long as defined by law, if the new crime is assessed as less serious or they have an insignificant role in a joint crime, they can also be considered for a suspended sentence;
b) For those convicted where the conviction includes a factor of "having been disciplined" or "having been administratively sanctioned" or "having been convicted" and they meet other conditions, they can also be considered for a suspended sentence;
c) For those convicted where the case is separated into different procedural stages (split into multiple cases) and they meet other conditions, they can also be considered for a suspended sentence.
3. There are at least 02 mitigating circumstances, including at least 01 mitigating circumstance specified in Clause 1 Article 51 of the Criminal Code, and no aggravating circumstances specified in Clause 1 Article 52 of the Criminal Code.
In cases with aggravating circumstances, the number of mitigating circumstances must exceed the number of aggravating circumstances by at least 02, including at least 01 mitigating circumstance specified in Clause 1 Article 51 of the Criminal Code.
4. The person has a clear place of residence or stable job for authorities to supervise and educate.
A clear place of residence is a residence with a specific address as defined by the Law on Residence where the person receiving a suspended sentence will reside and live regularly after being granted a suspended sentence.
A stable job is employment with a term of at least 01 year under a labor contract or as decided by a competent authority or organization.
5. It is deemed unnecessary to enforce imprisonment if the person shows self-correcting ability and granting a suspended sentence does not pose a danger to society or negatively affect social order and security.
6. When considering and deciding on granting a suspended sentence, the court must carefully and strictly review the conditions to ensure conformity with the law, particularly for cases specified in Clauses 2, 4, and 5 of Article 3 of this Resolution.
A person sentenced to imprisonment for theft of property will be eligible for a suspended sentence if they meet all the above conditions. To be specific:
- The imprisonment sentence does not exceed 3 years.
- The person sentenced to imprisonment demonstrates good character.
- There are at least 02 mitigating circumstances and no aggravating circumstances.
- The person sentenced to imprisonment has a clear place of residence.
- The person sentenced to imprisonment shows self-correcting ability and granting a suspended sentence does not pose a danger to society.
What are the cases in which a person sentenced to imprisonment for theft of property in Vietnam has an imprisonment sentence deferred?
A person sentenced to imprisonment (the convict) might have the sentence deferred in the following cases specified in Clause 1 Article 67 of the Criminal Code 2015:
- A convict suffering from a serious disease may have the sentence deferred until he/she recovers;
- A convict who is a pregnant woman or raising a child under 36 months of age may have the sentence deferred until the child reaches the age of 36 months;
- If the convict is the sole source of income in the family and his/her imprisonment causes his/her family to face extreme hardship, he/she may have the sentence deferred for up to 01 year, unless he/she commits a crime against national security, a very serious crime or extremely serious crime;
- A person convicted of a less serious crime may have the sentence deferred for up to 01 year if required by his/her official duties.
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