What are administrative penalties for theft of property under 2,000,000 VND in Vietnam?

What are administrative penalties for theft of property under 2,000,000 VND in Vietnam?

In Clause 1 and Point a Clause 3 Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP stipulates violations against regulations on causing damage to property of other organizations or individuals as follows:

1. A fine of from VND 2.000.000 to VND 3.000.000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Stealing property, intruding into residential areas, warehouses or other places under the management of another person for the purpose of theft or appropriation of property

b) Blatantly appropriating property;

c) Taking a loan, borrowing, leasing property of another person or receiving property of another person under a contract, then uses deception to appropriate it or refuses to repay the loan or return the property when the repayment or return of property is due despite he/she is capable of doing so.

d) Taking a loan, borrowing, leasing property of another person or receiving property of another person under a contract and then fails to repay loan or return property and uses it for illegal purposes which result in the offender's inability to repay the loan or return the property

dd) Negligence that results in damage to property of the State, authorities, organizations and enterprises.

3. Additional penalties:

a) Confiscate the exhibits and means used for committing administrative violations specified in Points a,b,c and d Clauses 1 and Points a,b,c and dd Clause 2 of this Article.

According to Clause 2, Article 4, Decree 144/2021/ND-CP stipulates the fine level:

2. The fines specified in Chapter II of this Decree are imposed upon administrative violations committed by individuals. The fine imposed upon an organization for the same violation shall be twice the fine imposed upon an individual.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, a thief who steals 1,240,000 VND of your class fund will be fined from 2,000,000 VND to 3,000,000 VND. In addition, the person who steals your class fund will have the evidence of the theft confiscated.

What are administrative penalties for theft of property under 2,000,000 VND in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What is criminal prosecution for theft of property in Vietnam?

According to Article 173 of the 2015 Criminal Code as amended by Clause 34, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Criminal Code, the crime of property theft is defined 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.

Therefore, people who commit property theft can be sentenced to community sentence for up to 3 years or to prison for up to 20 years. The type of punishment for the offender will depend on the level of behavior and the court's decision to execute the sentence in Vietnam.

Are people under 16 years old who commit theft of property subject to criminal prosecution in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 12 of the 2015 Criminal Code as amended by Clause 3, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Criminal Code, age of criminal responsibility is stipulated as follows:

2. A person from 14 years of age to be low 16 years of age shall bear criminal responsibility for very serious crimes and extremely serious crimes specified in Articles 123, 134, 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 151, 168, 169, 170, 171, 173, 178, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 265, 266, 286, 287, 289, 290, 299, 303, 304 hereof.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, people under 16 years of age will be prosecuted for criminal liability when committing very serious or extremely serious crimes of property theft in Vietnam.

Best regards!