Escaped from drug rehabilitation center, sneaked into motel to steal foreigner's property

On January 8, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Nguyen Van Trung (born 1993), residing in Phuc Tho commune, Nghi Loc district, for the crime of "Theft of property”.

Trung is a drug addict at the Social Labor Education Center. On March 29, 2020, Trung escaped and traveled to many places. On September 11, 2020, Trung visited his aunt's house in Tam Hop commune, Quy Hop district and stayed there.

Defendant Nguyen Van Trung received a 9-month prison sentence for stealing a foreigner's computer. Photo: Tran Vu

At 4:00 a.m. on September 13, Trung sneaked into a boarding house in Hop Tam hamlet, Tam Hop commune, and stole two computers and a leather wallet from a Turkish man. Trung then took the two computers to the house of a woman named Thuy in Phuc Tho commune and mortgaged them for 7 million VND.

After discovering the loss of property, the Turkish man reported it to the police.

On September 17, Nguyen Van Trung learned that the police discovered that he had stolen property, so he took back the two stolen computers and asked his aunt to hand them over to the police.

The investigation agency determined that the total value of assets that Nguyen Van Trung appropriated from the foreign man was 20 million VND.

In court, the defendant admitted to the theft. Trung said he had used drugs and was addicted to video games, so he stole the property. However, after being exposed, the defendant returned the property to the victim.

Considering that the defendant's actions were less serious, the defendant had remedied the consequences, and it was his first crime, the panel sentenced defendant Nguyen Van Trung to 9 months in prison for the crime of theft of property./.