Dao Van Thieu, born in 1977 in Bac Giang, was recently sentenced to 14 months in prison by the Gia Loc District People's Court (Hai Duong) for hiring the transportation of king cobras.
On the morning of February 29, Gia Loc District People's Court held a first-instance trial of the criminal case against Dao Van Thieu, born in 1977, residing in Trai Lan village, Vo Tranh commune, Luc Nam district (Bac Giang) for violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious and rare animals, as prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 244 of the Penal Code.
Due to a prior agreement on the sale of king cobras between Thieu and a man named Quan (about 40 years old, specific address unknown))On November 6, 2023, Quan transferred 6 million VND to Thieu to pay for a king cobra.
On the morning of November 7, 2023, Quan hired Mr. Le Van Kiem (born in 2000, residing in Truc Khe village, Dong Lac commune, Nam Sach) to go to Thieu's house in Bac Giang to get a king cobra and bring it back to Quan. At 11:15 a.m. the same day, when Mr. Kiem brought the king cobra to the area in front of house number 330 Nguyen Che Nghia (Gia Loc town), the police checked and seized the evidence.
At the end of the trial, the jury sentenced Thieu to 14 months in prison.
Mr. Le Van Kiem did not know this was a king cobra, did not know it was an endangered, rare animal, so there was no basis for handling it.
NGO THI THU HA