How many years of imprisonment for Head of the Procuracy to take bribes in Vietnam?

How many years of imprisonment for Head of the Procuracy to take bribes in Vietnam?

Article 354 of the Penal Code 2015 is supplemented by Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law amending the Penal Code 2017 which stipulates taking bribes, according to which:

1. Any person who abuses his/her power to directly or through an intermediary receive or promise to receive any of the following benefits for himself/herself or for another person or organization as a condition to act or not to act in the interests of or at the request of the bribe giver shall face a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment:

a) Money, property or other tangible benefit assessed at from VND 2,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000 or under VND 2,000,000 but the bribe recipient has incurred a disciplinary penalty for the same offence or has an unspent conviction for any of the offences specified in Section 1 of this Chapter ;

b) Intangible benefits.

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

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offender abuses his/her position or power to commit the offence;

c) The bribe is money, property or other tangible benefits assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

d) The property damage caused by the offence is assessed at from VND 1,000,000,000 to under VND 3,000,000,000;

dd) The offence has been committed more than once;

e) The offender knows that the bribe is state property;

g) The offender solicits bribes or employ a deceitful method to take bribes.

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 15 - 20 years' imprisonment:

a) The bribe is money, property or other tangible benefits assessed at from VND 500,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

b) The property damage caused by the offence is assessed at from VND 3,000,000,000 to under VND 5,000,000,000.

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

a) The bribe is money, property or other tangible benefits assessed at ≥ VND 1,000,000,000;

b) The property damage caused by the offence is assessed at ≥ VND 5,000,000,000.

5. The offender might also be prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain jobs for 01 - 05 years, liable to a fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 or have part or all of his/her property confiscated.

6. Officer-holders in enterprises and organizations other than state organizations who take bribes shall be dealt with in accordance with this Article.

Based on the amount of money that the bribe recipient receives for his/her law violation to determine the penalty frame and penalty for the crime of taking bribes in Vietnam: the minimum will be imprisonment from 02 years to 7 years. five and the maximum will be the death penalty. 

In case the offender abuses his/her position or power to commit the offence, he/she will be penalized for 7 to 15 years in prison in Vietnam. 

In addition, the offenders will also be banned from holding certain posts for 1 to 5 years and fined from VND 30,000,000 to VND 50,000,000, having part or all of their property confiscated in Vietnam.

Can taking bribes be considered mitigating factors in Vietnam when offenders turn themselve in?

Pursuant to Article 51 of the Penal Code 2015 as amended by Clause 6, Article 1 of the Law amending the Penal Code 2017 as follows:

1. The following circumstances are considered mitigating factors:

a) The offender has prevented or reduced the harm caused by the crime;

b) The offender voluntarily makes rectification, pays damages or relieves the consequences;

c) The crime is considered unjustified force in self-defense;

d) The crime is considered unjustified force in urgent circumstance;

dd) The crime is considered unjustified force in capturing a criminal;

e) The crime is committed under provocation caused by the victim's illegal acts;

g) The crime is committed because of extreme hardship that is not on the offender's account;

h) The crime has not inflicted damage or the damage inflicted is not significant;

i) The offender commits a less serious crime and does not have prior criminal record;

k) The crime is committed because the offender threatened or coerced by others;

l) The offender commits the crime while because of lack of awareness that is not on his/her account;

m) The crime is committed due to obsolescence;

n) The offender is a pregnant woman;

o) The offender is 70 years of age or older;

p) The offender has a serious physical disability or extremely serious physical disability;

g) The offender has a disease that limits his/her awareness or control of his/her acts;

r) The offender turns himself/herself in;

s) The offender expresses cooperative attitude and/or contrition;

t) the offender fully cooperates with responsible for authorities in discovery of crimes or during the investigation;

u) The offender has made reparation in an effort to atone for the crime;

v) The offender is an excellent worker, soldier or student;

x) The offender is revolutionist, parent, spouse or child of a war martyr or war veteran.

2. When issuing a decision on sentences, the Court might consider the offender's turning himself/herself in or other circumstances as mitigating factors and specify the reasons in the judgment.

3. If a circumstance defined as a mitigating factor this document is the basis for determination of a crime or sentence bracket, it shall not be considered a mitigating factor in the decision on sentences.

According to the above provisions in Vietnam, the case of the bribe recipient turns himself in will automatically be considered as a mitigating factors of criminal liability.

When can the Head of the Procuracy receive bribes have imprisonment sentence deferred in Vietnam? 

Pursuant to Article 67 of the 2015 Penal Code stipulating deferred imprisonment sentence, according to which:

1. A person sentenced to imprisonment (the convict) might have the sentence deferred in the following cases:

a) A convict suffering from a serious disease may have the sentence deferred until he/she recovers;

b) A convict who is a pregnant woman or raising a child under 36 months of age may have the sentence deferred until the child reaches the age of 36 months;

c) If the convict is the sole source of income in the family and his/her imprisonment causes his/her family to face extreme hardship, he/she may have the sentence deferred for up to 01 year, unless he/she commits a crime against national security, a very serious crime or extremely serious crime;

b) A person convicted of a less serious crime may have the sentence deferred for up to 01 year if required by his/her official duties.

2. During the deferment, if the convict commits a new crime, the Court shall require him/her to serve a sentence which is a combination of the deferred sentence and the new sentence as prescribed in Article 56 hereof.

When the head of the Procuracy accepts bribes in one of the above cases, the prison sentence will be deferred in Vietnam.

Best Regards!