Given the increasingly complex developments of the current Covid-19 pandemic, while the entire population is focusing on preventing the strong spread of the disease, there may still be some criminal acts being committed without the knowledge that committing crimes at this time may be subject to higher penalties.
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According to Article 52 Criminal Code 2015 on aggravating circumstances, one of the circumstances is: "Taking advantage of war circumstances, emergency state, natural disasters, epidemics, or other special difficulties of society to commit a crime."
An epidemic is defined as the occurrence of an infectious disease with the number of cases exceeding the normal expected number within a certain period in a specific area. (According to Clause 13, Article 2 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007)
Taking advantage of an epidemic to commit a crime refers to the situation where the perpetrator leverages the favorable conditions created by the difficulties in the country due to the epidemic to commit a crime.
The more dangerous the epidemic, the wider the scope of influence, the greater the damage that has occurred or will occur, and the higher the level of exploitation, the higher the degree of increased punishment (transitioning to a heavier type of punishment, increasing the imprisonment term, the fine, or the non-custodial reform period) for the perpetrator, and vice versa.
Currently, the Covid-19 epidemic has been recognized as a pandemic with an extremely high level of danger and has spread almost globally, so criminal acts will inevitably face this aggravating circumstance.
Hai Thanh
