Vietnam: What is the crime of making a phone call to the parents and saying "Your child is in emergency"?

1. What is the crime of making a phone call to the parents and saying "Your child is in emergency"?

There are signs to identify the crime of obtaining property by fraud in Vietnam:

- Regarding behavior: there is a sign of using deceitful tricks to appropriate property.

- Regarding the value of the appropriated property: The value of the appropriated property must be at least two million dong. Under two million dong, the act that causes serious consequences, has been administratively sanctioned for appropriation, or has been convicted of the crime of appropriating property has not yet been remitted but continues to commit the same crime.

- Regarding the behavior: The above-mentioned acts infringe upon the property rights of others.

- Regarding fault: The offender committed this crime with intentional error.

According to Article 174 of the Penal Code 2015 amended in 2017 of Vietnam, it stipulates the crime of fraudulent appropriation of property, specifically:

- A person who uses deception to obtain another person's property which is assessed at from VND 2,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000 or property assessed at under VND 2,000,000 in any of the following circumstances shall face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment:

+ The offender has incurred an administrative penalty for appropriation of property;

+ The offender has an unspent conviction for theft of property or robbery, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, snatching, blatant appropriation of property, theft of property, abuse of trust to appropriate property, and appropriation of property using a computer network, telecommunications network or electronic device;

+ The offence has a negative impact on social safety, order and security;

+ The property illegally obtained is the primary means of livelihood of the victim and the victim's family; the property illegally obtained is a souvenir, memento or religious item that has a spiritual value to the victim.

- This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment:

+ The offence is committed by an organized group;

+ The offence is committed in a professional manner;

+ The property obtained is assessed at from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000;

+ Dangerous recidivism;

+ The offence involves abuse of the offender's position or power or committed in the name of an agency or organization;

+ The offender employs deceitful methods to commit the offence;

Thus, according to the above recognition signs, the act of using deceitful tricks and giving false information to appropriate other people's property is a crime of fraud and appropriation of property with a value of VND 20,000,000. If they have already been administratively sanctioned for the act of appropriating property but continue to commit their violations, they shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or a prison term of between 6 months and 3 years. However, penalties and sanctions can be higher depending on the seriousness of the offense. If the criminal commits an organized crime, the penalty frame is imprisonment from 2 years to 7 years.

2. Who can denounce phone scams in Vietnam?

Provisions of Article 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015 (amended) stipulates denunciations, criminal information disclosed and requisitions for charges as follows

- Denunciation refers to an individual’s detection and denouncement of activities denoting crimes to competent authorities.

- Criminal information disclosed refers to the data on activities denoting crimes as disclosed by authorities, organizations and individuals to competent authorities or the criminal information disclosed through mass media.

- Denunciation or criminal information may be made or given verbally or in writing.

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