In which cases shall unintentional offenders have their sentences suspended in Vietnam?

In which cases shall unintentional offenders have their sentences suspended in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 68 of the Criminal Code in 2015 stipulating suspended imprisonment sentence:

Suspended imprisonment sentence

1. A person who is serving an imprisonment sentence may have the sentence suspended in the circumstances specified in Clause 1 Article 67 hereof.

2. The duration of suspension shall be included in the imprisonment period.

Pursuant to Article 67 of the Criminal Code in 2015 stipulating deferred imprisonment sentence:

Deferred imprisonment sentence

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.

Unintentional offenses are offenses committed without the intention of causing harm to society. Unintentional offenses can be categorized into two types:

[1] Offenses due to overconfidence: The offender anticipates that their actions may result in dangerous consequences for society, but they believe that these consequences will not occur or can be prevented.

[2] Offenses due to negligence: The offender fails to foresee that their actions may lead to dangerous consequences for society, even though they should have been able to foresee them, and the offender is unaware of the potential dangerous consequences.

Unintentional offenses have the following common characteristics:

- The offender did not intentionally cause harm to society.

- The consequences occur due to the offender's mistake.

- The offender is criminally liable for the consequences resulting from their actions.

According to the above regulations, unintentional offenders might have the sentence deferred in the following cases:

- The unintentional offender suffering from a serious disease may have the sentence deferred until he/she recovers;

- The unintentional offender 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;

- If the unintentional offender 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;

- The unintentional offender convicted of a less serious crime may have the sentence deferred for up to 01 year if required by his/her official duties.

In which cases shall unintentional offenders have their sentences suspended in Vietnam? - image from internet

In which cases shall determinate imprisonment not be imposed upon unintentional offenders in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 38 of the Criminal Code in 2015 stipulating determinate imprisonment:

Determinate imprisonment

1. Determinate imprisonment means forcing the convict to serve his/her sentence in a detention facility over a certain period of time.

The duration of determinate imprisonment imposed upon an offender is from 03 months to 20 years.

The duration of temporary detention shall be deducted from the imprisonment duration; 01 day of temporary detention equals (=) 01 day in prison.

2. Determinate imprisonment shall not be imposed upon a person who commits a less serious crime for the first time and has a fixed residence.

As regulations above, determinate imprisonment shall not be imposed in following cases:

- The unintentional offenders commit the crime for the first time;

- The unintentional offenders commit a less serious crime;

- The unintentional offenders have a fixed residence.

What penalties are applied to unintentional offenders, who are under 18 years old in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 100 of the Criminal Code in 2015 (amended by Clause 18 Article 1 of the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code in 2017) stipulating community sentence:

Community sentence

1. Community sentence shall be imposed upon an offender aged from 16 to under 18 who involuntarily commits a very serious crime or commits a less serious crime or a serious crime, or an offender aged from 14 to under 16 who deliberately commits a very serious crime.

2. When community sentence is imposed upon a juvenile offender, his/her income must not be deducted.

The duration of community sentence imposed upon a juvenile offender shall not exceed one third of the duration specified by the law.

As regulations above, an offender aged from 16 to under 18 who involuntarily commits a very serious crime shall face community sentence.

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