The case of an 8th grade boy beaten to brain death: How are juvenile offenders handled?

Lawyer Nguyen Duc Hung - Director of Thien Duyen Law Company Limited (Hanoi Bar Association) said: "The defendant is only 16 years old, a minor and if convicted of the above crime, will receive a lower penalty than an adult who commits the crime."

According to lawyer Nguyen Duc Hung, the defendant is being prosecuted and temporarily detained for the crime of "Intentionally causing injury" (Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017), with the type and level of punishment prescribed for this crime, the penalty is non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 20 years or life imprisonment.

However, in this case, the victim NHĐ, Long Bien district, was beaten to the point of traumatic brain injury, coma, and high mortality prognosis at only 14 years old, so the defendant will have to bear the aggravating circumstance of committing the crime "against a person under 16 years old" according to Point c, Clause 1, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017.

“With the above circumstances, whether the victim dies or not, the defendant will still be prosecuted under Clause 4, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, with the circumstances framed at Point a or Point d of this Clause,” lawyer Hung analyzed.

That is, at point a) Causing death or d) Causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 61% or more but falling into one of the cases specified in points from point a to point k, clause 1, Article 134 of the Penal Code and the prescribed penalty is imprisonment from 7 years to 14 years.

"Clause 1, Article 101 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, stipulates: For persons aged 16 to under 18 years old when committing a crime, if the applicable law stipulates life imprisonment or the death penalty, the highest penalty applied shall not exceed 18 years in prison; if it is a fixed-term prison sentence, the highest penalty applied shall not exceed 3/4 of the prison term prescribed by the law," lawyer Hung analyzed.

Regarding civil liability, Clause 2, Article 586 of the Civil Code stipulates: “A person from 15 years old to under 18 years old who causes damage must compensate with his/her own property. If there is not enough property to compensate, the parents will have to compensate the remaining amount with their own property,” said the Director of Thien Duyen Law Company Limited.

In this case, since the defendant is 16 years old, he will have to compensate the victim with his own assets (if any). If the defendant does not have enough assets or does not have assets to compensate, the defendant's parents must compensate the remaining amount or all of the damage with their own assets.

Although the police investigation agency has initiated a case, prosecuted and temporarily detained the accused, lawyers say: These are only the initial investigation results. The prosecution agencies will have to continue investigating and verifying to clarify the objective details and issues that need to be proven in the case according to legal regulations such as: The cause and development of the case, in addition to the accused, were there other accomplices involved in instigating, assisting or directly beating and injuring the victim?...

"Therefore, the entire objective truth of the case as well as the legal responsibility of the accused and related people (if any) will have to wait for the final conclusion of the police investigation agency, as well as the results of the prosecution and trial of the case," lawyer Hung emphasized.

Especially the responsibility of the defendant’s father (Mr. TVT) in this case. Although he knew about the conflict between the children, Mr. TVT did not take appropriate and necessary actions to properly resolve it and promptly prevent the children from fighting.