What are penalties for engaging in sexual intercourse with a person under 13 in Vietnam?

Thank you for your question. Regarding the above case, Lawnet has the following comments:

According to the provisions of the criminal law of Vietnam, the act of having sex with a person under the age of 13 regardless of the voluntary factor is defined as rape of a person under the age of 16, specifically:

Article 142 of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017) stipulates:

"1. A person who commits any of the following acts shall face a penalty of 07 - 15 years' imprisonment:

a) Use of violence or threatens to use violence or takes advantage of the victim's defenselessness or otherwise engages in non-consensual sexual intercourse or other sexual activities with a person aged from 13 to under 16.

b) Engaging in sexual intercourse or other sexual activities with a person under 13.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 12 – 20 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is of an incestuous nature;

b) The offence results in the victim's pregnancy;

c) The offence results in damage to physical or mental health of the victim and the victim’s WPI is assessed as 31% - 60%;

d) The offence is committed against a person for whom the offender is responsible for providing care, education or medical treatment;

dd) The offence has been committed more than once;

e) The offence is committed against more than one person;

g) Dangerous recidivism.

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances shall carry a penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, life imprisonment or death:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence is committed by more than one person against one person;

c) The offence is committed against a person under 10;

d) The offence results in damage to physical or mental health of the victim and the victim’s WPI is assessed as ≥ 61%;

dd) The offender commits the offence in the knowledge of his HIV infection;

e) The offence results in the death or suicide of the victim.

4. The offender might be prohibited from holding certain positions, practicing his/her profession or doing certain jobs for 01 - 05 years."

On the other hand, regarding your case, the boy in the story by the time of committing the act was already 16 years old. This means that he is old enough to be procecuted for criminl liability

 Article 12 of Criminal Code stipulate the age of criminal responsibility

- A person from 16 years of age and above shall bear criminal responsibility for every crime, except for those otherwise prescribed by this document.

- 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, if the girl's parents file a lawsuit, there shall be a possibility that the boy shall be prosecuted for criminal liability with a sentence of 7-15 years of imprisonment. In addition, if a girl becomes pregnant or has an injury, causing harm to her health, mental and behavioral effects with a WPI of between 31% and 60%, the boy is subject to the aggravation bracket according to Clause 2, Article 142 of the Criminal Code with a sentence of 12-20 years of imprisonment.

Please refer to a judgment with a similar situation below.

Judgment for rape of a person under 16 years old No. 30/2022/HS-ST

Dao Van L, born on October 12, 2004, and Tran Thi Hieu Th, born on May 21, 2009, was in a relationship. Both of them had sex with each other on a voluntary basis. Th's biological mother, Mrs. Tran Thi Thu H, discovered the incident and reported it to the Commune Police. At the police investigation agency, Dao Van L confessed to the police all sexual acts with Tran Thi Hieu Th's niece.

The People's Court of Phu My town, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province said that Dao Van L had sexual intercourse with Tran Thi Hieu Th once (one time) when she was 11 years old, 9 months and 26 days old. Although Th voluntarily had sex with Dao Van L, at the age of under 13, Th had not yet developed enough psycho-physiologically, so she was not capable of fully being aware of sexual acts. Therefore, the act of Dao Van L has enough elements to constitute the crime of "Rape of a person under 16 years old" as prescribed in Article 142 of the Criminal Code.

In addition, during the investigation as well as at the trial, Dao Van L sincerely confessed and repented. At the trial, the victim and the victim's representative asked for a reduced penalty for the defendant. This is the basis for considering partial relief of the defendant's punishment.

Therefore, the Court declared Dao Van L guilty of "Rape of a person under 16 years old"; Sentenced L 04 (Four) years in prison.

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