How many years in prison for intentional injury?

Reply: Currently, there is no legal document that defines intentional injury. However, it can be understood that intentional injury is an act of intentionally violating the body, causing harm to the health of another person.

* According to Article 134 of the Penal Code No. 100/2015 (amended and supplemented by Law No. 12/2017/QH14), the crime of intentionally causing injury has 05 penalty frames:

- The basic penalty framework includes a non-custodial reform penalty of up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years, for the following cases without other aggravating factors:

“1. Anyone who intentionally causes injury or harm to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 11% to 30% or less than 11% but falls into one of the following cases, shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years:
a) Using weapons, explosives, dangerous weapons or tricks that can harm many people;
b) Using dangerous acids or dangerous chemicals;
c) Against persons under 16 years of age, women known to be pregnant, the elderly, sick or others unable to defend themselves;
d) Towards your grandparents, parents, teachers, caregivers, or medical practitioners;
d) Organized;
e) Abusing position and power;
g) During the time of being detained, temporarily detained, temporarily imprisoned, serving a prison sentence, serving a judicial educational measure at a reformatory school or serving an administrative violation handling measure of being sent to a compulsory educational facility, to a reformatory school or to a compulsory drug rehabilitation facility;
h) Hiring someone to cause injury or damage to the health of another person or causing injury or damage to the health of another person while being hired;
i) Has a hooligan nature;
k) For a person performing official duties or for the victim's official duties".

- The first aggravated penalty frame has the levelimprisonment from 02 years to 06 yearswhen committing a crime in one of the cases in Clause 2, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code:

“a) Causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 31% to 60%;
b) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people, with the body injury rate of each person from 11% to 30%;
c) Committing the crime 02 times or more;
d) Dangerous recidivism;
d) Causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 11% to 30% but falling into one of the cases specified in points a to k, Clause 1 of this Article".

- The second level of increased penalties isimprisonment from 05 years to 10 yearswhen committing a crime in one of the cases in Clause 3, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code:

“a) Causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 61% or more, if not falling under the case specified in Point b, Clause 4 of this Article;

b) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people, with the body injury rate of each person from 31% to 60%;
c) Causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 31% to 60% but falling into one of the cases specified in points a to k, Clause 1 of this Article;

d) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people with the body injury rate of each person from 11% to 30% but falling into one of the cases specified in points a to k, clause 1 of this Article".

- The third aggravated penalty bracket has a level ofimprisonment from 07 years to 14 yearswhen committing a crime in one of the cases in Clause 4, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code:

“a) Causing death;
b) Causing injury that disfigures another person's face with a body injury rate of 61% or more;
c) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people, with each person's body injury rate being 61% or more;
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 a to k, Clause 1 of this Article;
d) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people with the body injury rate of each person from 31% to 60% but falling into one of the cases specified in points a to k, clause 1 of this Article".

- The fourth aggravated penalty bracket has a level ofimprisonment from 12 years to 20 yearsm or life imprisonment when committing a crime in one of the cases in Clause 5, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code:

“a) Causing the death of two or more people;

b) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people with a bodily injury rate of 61% or more for each person but falling into one of the cases specified in points a to k, Clause 1 of this Article".

Thus, depending on the signs of behavior and the level of danger, the person will be prosecuted for criminal liability for intentionally causing injury with the above penalties.

In addition, Clause 6, Article 134 of the 2015 Penal Code stipulates the penalty for the act of preparing to commit a crime for the crime of intentionally causing injury as follows:

“6. Anyone who prepares weapons, explosives, dangerous weapons, dangerous acids, dangerous chemicals or establishes or participates in a criminal group with the aim of causing injury or harm to the health of another person shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 02 years or imprisonment from 03 months to 02 years”.

However, pursuant to Clause 5, Article 7Decree 144/2021/ND-CP, a person who intentionally causes injury without being prosecuted for criminal liability (not reaching the level of injury as prescribed) may be subject to an administrative fine of from 5,000,000 VND to 8,000,000 VND.

The above fines are applied to individuals. In case an organization commits the same act, the fine is twice the above level, that is, from VND 10,000,000 to VND 16,000,000 (Clause 2, Article 4, Decree 144/2021/ND-CP).