"Rejuvenation" of crime

Ky Son District Police are currently detaining Mua Thang Loi (born 2000) and Mua Ba Chay (born 2001), both residing in Ta Ca Commune, Ky Son District, to investigate and clarify their acts of property theft. Although Loi and Chay are young, they are the terror of many people in Muong Xen Town when they have committed a series of property thefts. Referring to these two subjects, Lieutenant Colonel Lo Van Thao - Deputy Head of Ky Son District Police also shook his head in dismay: "As for subject Loi, he has been committing theft since 2016, in which Loi was the ringleader. But at that time, Loi was still young so he could not be prosecuted but handed over to his family for education. After that, Loi continued to commit theft and was recently detained. As for Mua Ba Chay, his theft was even more reckless and daring. Chay also broke into and stole 10.8 million VND from a household in Phu Quac 1 village, Na Ngoi commune with some friends, but was later released on bail because he was not yet an adult."

Students Ta Ba Senh, Lau Ba Tu, Va Ba Chenh and Mua Ba Chai at the police station. Photo: PB

It is known that Mua Ba Chay dropped out of school in grade 10 after a few months of enrolling. During the days of hanging around without the supervision of his parents or school, Chay was deeply immersed in games and drinking. To have money to have fun, Chay sneaked into people's houses, student dormitories, and schools to steal anything that could be sold for money. On September 9, 2018, Chay took advantage of the dark night to break into Son Ha Kindergarten, Ta Ca commune, and stole many valuable school supplies. A day later, Chay continued to break into the house of Mr. Mua Ba Gio - Deputy Secretary of the Ta Ca commune Party Committee and a student dormitory in block 3, Muong Xen town to steal 2 Samsung phones. On September 16, taking advantage of the quiet noon, Chay continued to sneak into Tinh Phuong restaurant in block 2, Muong Xen town to steal 10 kg of beef jerky and 3 kg of cool fish. The total value of the stolen property is nearly 16 million VND.

Em Mua Ba Chay has committed many thefts in Ky Son district. Photo: PB

Loi and Chay are not the only two cases with a bad record from a young age in the district. According to the leader of the Ky Son District Police, the situation of young people, including those who are minors, violating the law is on the rise in terms of the number of cases, the number of criminals as well as the level of danger. "Many people violate the law while studying in high school, some are just over 14 years old. Many cases after being discovered to have committed theft of property were expelled from school or dropped out of school," said Lieutenant Colonel Thao, adding that there are two groups of violations of the law that these people often "get involved in": theft of property and drug use, of which theft of property accounts for the majority. These people often live in Muong Xen town, so they are familiar with the terrain, taking advantage of the victim's carelessness to commit theft.

According to incomplete statistics, from the beginning of 2018 to now, the authorities of Ky Son district have discovered 9 cases, 14 subjects who are minors committing crimes, of which 7 cases have been prosecuted, prosecuted, and tried with 12 defendants; an increase of 3 cases with 4 defendants compared to the same period in 2017. Notably, the criminal methods of these subjects are increasingly sophisticated and dangerous, not simply the impulsiveness or lack of thinking of people who are not yet adults, even among them there are people who have been tried 2-3 times. For example, in 2 days (November 14 and 15), Ky Son District People's Court had to open 3 trials to try 3 cases/ 4 defendants (under 18 years old) for the crime of "Theft of property". The sentences have also been announced, but behind that are concerns and worries about the defendants who, at such a young age, had to stand before the bar. Some juvenile criminals are surprised by their punishment, because they never thought that when they committed a crime with that behavior they would receive such a sentence.

Difficult to manage

Many students often play games online after school. Photo: PB

Currently, Ky Son High School has more than 1,400 students, of which about 1,000 have to rent houses outside in Muong Xen town and neighboring areas to live. Due to the lack of attention from landlords, being far from their families, and the school being unable to manage them all, many students have been lured by bad people to participate in all-night parties, and then commit illegal acts.

Many rented rooms are ideal places for people to commit property theft.

Therefore, every year, the school has students who "cause trouble" and have to be dealt with. Moreover, because they live in rented houses, many of them have had their valuables such as motorbikes and mobile phones stolen. Recently, at a row of rented houses in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune, Ky Son district, thieves sneaked in and stole two phones from Lu Thi Phuong, a student in class 11A, and Coc Van Thay, a student in class 11E, Ky Son High School.

Lu Thi Phuong, a student of class 11A, Ky Son High School, just lost her cell phone. Photo: TH

Evidence for the above problem is the case of 3 students Ta Ba Senh, Lau Ba Tu, and Ba Chinh (students of Ky Son High School). On the morning of November 27, Mr. Vuong Anh Ngoc (residing in Muong Xen town) reported to the police that he had lost a phone worth 7 million VND while he was sleeping. When the police investigated, they determined that the 3 students had been lured by Mua Ba Chay (who had dropped out of school) to steal Mr. Ngoc's phone to sell for money to play games. This gang of thieves confessed that in addition to the above theft, they had previously committed 3 other cases, stealing many properties worth a total of nearly 10 million VND from people in Muong Xen town. The stolen properties included phones, silver necklaces, etc. After selling them, the group divided the money and "burned" it all on games. When they ran out of money, they continued to steal.

Many families buy motorbikes and phones for their students when they go to school. Photo: PB

According to the Ky Son District Police, most of the children who violate the law are addicted to games and often hang out. These children live far from their parents, so there is almost no one to control their time, so many of them indulge in games. There are children who, although arrested by the police for theft, their parents still defend them and say that their children are obedient. There are also cases where the family spoils them too much by buying motorbikes and good phones for them to use. Outside of school hours, the children spend most of their time online, which leads to many bad habits that affect their awareness.

In the long run, children will not study hard but will easily fall into evil ways when enticed and enticed. In addition, there are the impacts of the market economy, moral degradation as well as the ineffective propaganda, dissemination and education of the law. Therefore, to prevent juvenile crime, in addition to the involvement of authorities, it requires close coordination between families, schools and society in managing and educating minors to equip them with knowledge of life skills, helping them to be resistant to social evils.