Are children liable for criminal prosecution when stealing money from their parents in Vietnam?

Are children liable for criminal prosecution when stealing money from their parents in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 173 of the 2015 Criminal Code as amended by Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Criminal Code, theft of property is stipulated 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;

c) The offence has negative impacts on social safety, order, and security;

d) The property stolen is the primary means of livelihood of the victim and the victim's family;

dd) The property stolen is a relic.

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 12 of the 2015 Criminal Code stipulates the age of criminal responsibility as follows:

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.

According to this Article, in the case of a child stealing money from his or her parents, the law does not rely on the biological relationship between the offender and the victim, but on the behavior, consequences... to consider whether it is a crime or not. Thus, you are old enough for criminal responsibility and you have stolen 10,000,000 VND which is enough to constitute the crime of property theft according to the above regulations.

Are children liable for criminal prosecution when stealing money from their parents in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What are penalties for children who steal money from their parents in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 173 of the 2015 Criminal Code as amended by Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Criminal Code, the penalties for children stealing money from their parents are 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;

c) The offence has negative impacts on social safety, order, and security;

d) The property stolen is the primary means of livelihood of the victim and the victim's family;

dd) The property stolen is a relic.

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

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence is committed in a professional manner;

c) The property stolen is assessed at from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000;

d) The offender employs a deceitful method or a dangerous method to commit the offence;

dd) The offender attacks other people to escape;

e) The property stolen is national treasure;

g) Dangerous recidivism.

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 07 - 15 years' imprisonment:

a) The property stolen is assessed at from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

b) The offender takes advantage of a natural disaster or epidemic to commit the offence.

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

a) The property stolen is ≥ VND 500,000,000;

b) The offender takes advantage of a war or state of emergency to commit the offence.

5. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 50,000,000.

Thus, you will be sentenced to community sentence for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years for stealing 10,000,000 VND from your parents.

Best regards!