Vietnam to take away demise penalty for embezzlement, sparing tycoon’s life
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam will take away the demise penalty for eight offenses beginning subsequent month, together with embezzlement and actions aimed toward overthrowing the federal government, parliament mentioned Wednesday, sparing the lifetime of a tycoon in a $12 billion fraud case.
The Nationwide Meeting, the nation’s lawmaking physique, unanimously ratified the modification to the Prison Code earlier Wednesday to abolish the demise penalty for the crimes, it mentioned in a press release.
Different crimes that may now not result in the demise penalty embrace vandalizing state property, manufacturing pretend medication, jeopardizing peace, triggering invasive wars, espionage and carrying medication, the official Vietnam Information Company mentioned.
The utmost sentence for these crimes will now be life imprisonment, the report mentioned.
Those that had been sentenced to demise for these offenses earlier than July 1 however haven’t but been executed can have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, the report added.
These will embrace actual property tycoon Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of actual property developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, who was sentenced to demise final 12 months on embezzlement fees.
Lan’s attorneys didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.
“Based on the modification of the Prison Code, her sentence will mechanically be diminished to life imprisonment,” lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan, who shouldn’t be a part of Lan’s protection group, instructed Reuters.
Ten offenses will stay topic to capital punishment in Vietnam, together with homicide, treason, terrorism and the sexual abuse of kids, based on the report. Drug trafficking can even stay a capital offense.
Capital punishment information is a state secret in Vietnam and it’s not recognized how many individuals are at present on demise row within the nation. Deadly injection is the one technique of execution after firing squads had been abolished in 2011.