Dog theft cases occur in many localities, causing frustration and anger for the local community in particular and society in general. So is there any legal sanction for dog theft according to Vietnam’s regulations?
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According to Vietnam’s regulations, depending on the level of damage caused by dog theft, the appropriate penalty will be decided. Light cases can result in administrative sanctions (Decree No. 167/2013/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government), severe cases can result in criminal penalties. Vietnam’s current law considers dog theft as property theft, so those who steal dogs can be criminally prosecuted for "Property theft" (Article 173 of the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code 2015 in 2017 of Vietnam).
1. Administrative sanction
According to Clause 1 Article 15 of Decree No. 167/2013/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, a fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the acts as follows:
- Stealing assets;
- Openly appropriating the others’ assets;
- Using deceitful tricks or running away to appropriate the others’ assets;
- Illegally using others' assets.
If the number of dogs stolen through valuation is worth VND 01 million or more, those who steal dogs will be administratively fined with a fine of up to VND 02 million. This amount of money in general seems to be quite small, reducing the level of punishment, but there is still a basis to prosecute dog thieves for criminal liability.
2. Criminal prosecution for "Theft of property"
According to Article 173 of the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code 2015 in 2017 of Vietnam, 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:
- The offender has incurred an administrative penalty for appropriation of property;
- The offender has an unspent conviction for theft or any of the criminal offenses specified in Article 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 175 and 290 hereof;
- The offense has negative impacts on social safety, order, and security;
- The property stolen is the primary means of livelihood of the victim and the victim's family;
- The property stolen is a relic.
Thus, through asset valuation, if the stolen dogs are worth VND 2,000,000 or more, the act of dog theft is enough to constitute this crime. Dog thieves can be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison.
Moreover, if the dog thieves are discovered by people and while running away, they assault people to escape, it will be considered an aggravating circumstance for the crime of property theft specified in Point dd Clause 2 Article 173 of the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code 2015 in 2017. In this case, dog thieves can be sentenced to up to 7 years in prison. Furthermore, nowadays subjects tend to commit in large groups, clearly dividing the roles of each person (who is the implementer, who is the watchman, etc.) which is also an aggravating circumstance specified in Point a Clause 2 Article 173. The specific sentence will be decided for each subject based on the nature, level of behavior and role of each subject.
Once the value of stolen dogs reaches VND 50,000,000, the dog thieves will also be prosecuted for criminal liability according to Clause 2 Article 173. However, a current problem is that the mechanism for determining the value of dogs is based on weight, so it is difficult to prosecute dog thieves based on this point.
The question is what if the asset value is less than VND 2,000,000? The answer is that there are still grounds to prosecute dog thieves for this crime. Dog theft can "adversely affect security, order and social safety" due to the fact that in the process of stealing dogs, the subjects can cause a disturbance in the entire residential area, disturbing the order and security of the surrounding area. Thus, this can be considered a basis to prosecute dog thieves for "property theft".
In addition, during the investigation process, if it is discovered that these subjects have incurred an administrative penalty for appropriation of property or have unspent conviction for theft or any of the criminal offenses specified in Article 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 175 and 290 hereof, these are also basis for prosecuting dog thieves for "property theft".
Legal basis:
- Law on amendments to the Criminal Code 2015 in 2017
Nguyen Phu
