Brother-in-law in jail for pawning brother-in-law's motorbike

On the morning of July 23, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal appeal trial of defendant Nguyen Trong Cong (born in 1982), residing in Bao Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district) for the crime of "Extortion of property". The trial was opened due to an appeal for a reduction in the defendant Cong's sentence.

According to the first instance verdict, during the online gambling, Quyen (the defendant's brother-in-law) owed Cong 2 million VND. On November 15, 2018, Cong came to the house to reclaim the money. There, seeing Quyen not admitting to the debt, Cong immediately took out a knife he had prepared and threatened: "If you don't pay, I will take your motorbike and pawn it to pay off the debt". The two sides argued loudly and were stopped by some people present. Cong then held a knife to threaten everyone, and at the same time took Quyen's motorbike to a pawn shop for 10 million VND to spend.

Subject Nguyen Trong Cong. Photo: Tran Vu

The victim reported Cong's actions to the police. Nguyen Trong Cong was then arrested and prosecuted for "Extortion of property". The investigation agency valued the motorbike that Cong took from Quyen and pawned at over 47 million VND.

At the first instance trial held in April 2019, Nguyen Trong Cong was sentenced by Yen Thanh District People's Court to 18 months in prison for the crime of "Extortion of property". Believing that the sentence was too high, Cong filed an appeal to reduce the sentence.

In court, giving reasons for requesting a reduced sentence, the defendant stated that he realized all his mistakes, his family's circumstances were difficult, his wife had just undergone several surgeries, and his daughter had to work as a babysitter to earn money to help her parents.

It is known that in 2003, Nguyen Trong Cong was administratively punished for "Intentionally causing injury". In 2012, Cong continued to be sentenced to 30 months in prison for "Robbery".

The panel of judges determined that the defendant's actions were dangerous to society. The defendant had a bad character. In the previous trial, the first instance court considered the mitigating details presented by the defendant. Therefore, the court decided to reject the defendant's appeal, uphold the sentence for Nguyen Trong Cong, and sentence the defendant to 18 months in prison for the crime of "Extortion of property".