Is the Execution of the Death Penalty for Receiving Bribes Deferred if More than Three Quarters of the Bribed Assets Are Returned?

Eligibility for Execution Suspension for Death Penalty Convicts Who Have Returned Over Three-Quarters of Illicit Gains

Based on Clause 1, Article 81 of the Law on Execution of Death Sentences 2019, which stipulates the cases eligible for suspension of execution of death sentences as follows:

The Death Sentence Execution Council will decide to suspend the execution of the death sentence in one of the following cases:

- The convict eligible for death sentence falls under the following cases:

+ A pregnant woman or a woman currently raising a child under 36 months;

+ A person aged 75 years or older;

+ A person sentenced to death for embezzlement of property or bribery, who, after being sentenced, actively returns at least three-quarters of the embezzled or bribed assets and cooperates actively with the relevant authorities in detecting, investigating, and handling the crime or makes major accomplishments.

- Due to force majeure or objective obstacles;

- Immediately before the execution of the sentence, the convict discloses new details about the crime.

As such, in the case you mentioned, where the convict sentenced to death for bribery has returned more than three-quarters of the bribed amount, they will be eligible for suspension of the execution of the death sentence as per the regulations.

Procedure for Suspending the Execution of the Death Sentence

The procedure for suspending the execution of the death sentence in your case is stipulated in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of this Article as follows:

- Upon deciding to suspend the execution of the death sentence, the Death Sentence Execution Council must make a record specifying the date, time, month, year, location of the execution; full names and positions of the council members; reasons for the suspension of the execution. The suspension record must be signed by all council members, filed in the execution dossier, and reported to the Chief Justice of the court that issued the execution decision, the Chief Procurator of the provincial People’s Procuracy, the Chief Procurator of the military region’s Military Procuracy, and the competent provincial-level criminal judgment enforcement agency, and the military region’s competent criminal judgment enforcement agency.

- The criminal judgment execution police and judicial support forces or judicial support guards shall escort and hand over the person whose execution is suspended to the detention center for continued management. The handover and receipt of the person whose execution is suspended must be documented.

- The Death Sentence Execution Council shall suspend the execution and report to the Chief Justice of the court that issued the execution decision, who will report to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court for review and decision.

Respectfully!