Will I have to face a penalty of imprisonment if I consume property obtained by theft in Vietnam? If my brother has returned stolen property to owner, will he be exempt from imprisonment in Vietnam?

Will I have to face a penalty of imprisonment if I consume property obtained by theft in Vietnam?

I bought on facebook 2 stolen bicycles and sold 2 of them and was caught by the police. So am I going to jail? I just surfed facebook and saw them for sale and then buy, but did not promise them to buy.

Reply:

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 2 of Joint Circular 09/2011/TTLT-BCA-BQP-BTP-NHNNVN-VKSNDTC-TANDTC stipulating: Consumption of property is one of the following acts: buying, selling, renting, leasing, exchanging, pledging, mortgaging, depositing, giving, donating, receiving property or assisting in the performance of such acts.

Thus, the act of buying a bicycle knowing that it is stolen property, your act is considered an act of consuming property by the offender. And was handled according to Article 323 of the 2015 Penal Code as follow:

1. Any person who, without prior promise, stores or buys a piece of property in the knowledge that it is obtained through another person's commission of a crime shall be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 03 - 07 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence is committed in a professional manner;

c) The illegal piece of property is assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000;

d) The illegal profit earned is from VND 20,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

dd) Dangerous recidivism.

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 07 - 10 years' imprisonment:

a) The illegal piece of property is assessed at from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

b) The illegal profit earned is from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000.

4. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 10 - 15 years' imprisonment:

a) The illegal piece of property is assessed at ≥ VND 1,000,000,000;

b) The illegal profit earned is ≥ VND 300,000,000;

5. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or have all or part of his/her property confiscated.

According to this regulation in Vietnam, the decision to apply the penalty depends on the value of the property sold. In addition, the decision on imprisonment also depends on the investigation process and many other factors such as aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

Because you only provided information that you consumed 2 bicycles due to theft, we cannot conclude whether your case should go to jail or not.

If my brother has returned stolen property to owner, will he be exempt from imprisonment in Vietnam?

My brother was dragged by his friends, so he stole a phone about 20 million. But then voluntarily returned the property to the owner. If the police are preparing a file for criminal prosecution, will my brother be exempt from imprisonment?

Reply:

Article 29 of the 2015 Penal Code provides for basis for exemption from criminal responsibility as follows:

1. A criminal offender shall be exempt from criminal responsibility on one of the following bases:

a) A policy or law is changed during the process of investigation, prosecution or trial and accordingly, the offender's act is no longer dangerous to society;

b) A general amnesty is granted.

2. A criminal offender might be exempt from criminal responsibility on one of the following bases:

a) The situation is changed during the process of investigation, prosecution or trial and accordingly, the offender is no longer dangerous to society;

b) The offender has a fatal disease during the process of investigation, prosecution or trial and no longer poses a threat to society;

c) The offender confesses his/her crime, contributes to the crime discovery and investigation; minimizes the damage inflicted by his/her crime, have made reparation or special contributions that are recognized by the State and society.

3. The person who involuntarily commits a less serious crime or a serious crime and causes damage to life, health, honor or property of others will be exempt from criminal responsibility if the aggrieved person or his/he representative voluntarily seeks reconciliation and requests exemption from criminal responsibility

According to this Article, if your brother has one of the above-mentioned grounds in Vietnam, he will be exempted or may be exempt from criminal responsibility.

Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law amending the Penal Code 2017 (amended Article 173 of the Penal Code 2015) on the crime of property theft as follows:

1. A person who steals 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:

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

b) The offender has an unspent conviction for theft or any of the criminal offences specified in Article 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 175 and 290 hereof;

...

The act of stealing property of your brother is an intentional fault, the stolen property is a phone (worth about 20 million VND) so there are enough grounds to prosecute for property theft, punishable by community sentence for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years in Vietnam.

According to Clause 1b, Article 51 of the 2015 Penal Code, the offender voluntarily makes rectification, pays damages or relieves the consequences is considered mitigating factor.

Thus, the return of stolen property by your brother is a mitigating factor for criminal responsibility, not a ground for exemption from criminal responsibility in Vietnam.

If my father commits the crime of property theft, how long will statute of limitations for criminal prosecution expire in Vietnam?

Two years ago, my father stole 10 million dong from a neighbor's house but was not discovered, recently because a relative hated it, he told the other house, then the neighbor came over and told my family that if we don't return the money, they will report to the police for sending my father to prison, as far as I know, the statute of limitations to prosecute my father has already expired because the time limit is two years, is it true?

Reply:

The act of stealing VND 10 million from your father may be liable for penal responsibility according to Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law amending the Penal Code 2017 whereby:

1. A person who steals 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:

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

On the other hand, based on Clause 2, Article 27 of the 2015 Penal Code, time limit for criminal prosecution is prescribed as follows:

2. Time limits for criminal prosecution:

a) 05 years for less serious crimes;

b) 10 years for serious crimes;

c) 20 years for very serious crimes;

d) 20 years for extremely serious crimes.

Less serious crime means a crime whose danger to society is not significant and for which the maximum sentence defined by this Code is a fine, community sentence (non-custodial), or 03 years' imprisonment (point a, Clause 2, Article 1 of the Law amending the Penal Code 2017).

According to the law, the maximum penalty frame for property theft specified in Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law amending the Penal Code 2017 is from 6 months to 3 years, so this is a less serious crime.

Thus, according to the provisions of law in Vietnam, the statute of limitations to prosecute your father for penal liability in this case is 5 years, besides, if within the time limit specified in Clause 2 of this Article, your father evades and a wanted decision has been issued, the statute of limitations will be recalculated from the time he surrenders or is arrested.

In this case, the neighbor's family can completely report your father's behavior to the competent agency for handling in accordance with the law in Vietnam.

Best regards!