Fraudulent "running sentence" for death row inmates

The verdict dated May 28 of the People's Court of Nghe An province found Dung, 52 years old, residing in Hanoi, guilty of the crime.Fraudulent appropriation of property, according to Article 174 of the Penal Code.

In court, Dung cried, regretted, and said he felt guilty for taking advantage of his mother while she was worried about her child to commit the crime. After being arrested, the defendant pressured his wife to return all the money she had embezzled. The victim also filed a petition to reduce Dung's sentence.

The jury determined that the defendant's actions were taking advantage of other people's trust for personal gain, creating negative consequences for society, and a severe sentence was needed as a deterrent.

According to the indictment, Dung was a freelance worker, but when he met the mother of a defendant in the drug trafficking case who was a "high-ranking court official" with many connections to leaders, he could "help reduce the sentence". Believing him, the defendant's family gave Dung 600 million VND as a bribe.

Dung confessed that he took the money to pay off debts due to losses when investing in virtual currency online, and did not ask anyone to intervene in the case.

In March 2023, the above defendant was sentenced to death by the Hanoi People's Court for the crime ofIllegal drug trafficking. Contacting Dung to ask for the money back, the defendant's family only got 126 million VND. Based on the victim's complaint, Dung was arrested in January 2024.