Go to jail with a bill….!

(Baonghean) - Do you know that people in prison must have a bill?

- In jail, who can you buy from that requires a receipt?

Illustration photo

- But there is. That is the story of Mr. Huynh Van Nen who was wrongly convicted of two prison sentences, one on top of the other, and had to serve 18 years in prison. After being exonerated, Mr. Huynh Van Nen filed a petition to the court demanding 18 billion VND in compensation. The court accepted the petition but asked Mr. Nen to provide invoices, vouchers, and documents related to the damages that had to be compensated.

- Oh my god, in prison, how can you do business with anyone that requires invoices and documents. What a puzzle.

- The court explained that it was according to the law.

- It is true that the law has provisions on compensation for wrongful convictions. For example, people who are wrongfully imprisoned are compensated in the following way: one day of wrongful imprisonment is calculated as 3 days of minimum wage. Or compensation for property damage and health damage must be assessed by competent authorities, so documents are needed. There are so many other tangible and intangible damages that wrongfully imprisoned people have to endure painfully, so how can there be invoices and vouchers?

- What are the damages? Tell me.

- Specifically, in the case of Mr. Huynh Van Nen, for 18 years his family had to sell all their property to appeal for his innocence, his children had to endure humiliation and could not raise their heads, he himself was tormented with injustice for 18 years in prison, his wife was separated from her husband for 18 years... Those terrible consequences, I wonder if there are any invoices or documents to record them.

- What you said makes sense, but what can we do if the court keeps requiring invoices and documents for compensation?

- According to lawyers, compensation for wrongful convictions is mainly an agreement between the court and the wrongfully imprisoned person. If the judges care about the people, they will find the most beneficial agreement for them. If the judges do not care about the people, they will just ask for invoices and documents.

- Through this incident, we can see that the administrative reform process is still very difficult and arduous. No wonder former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung once said that our administrative procedures are very cruel to the people.

- Administrative procedures are also created by humans. The problem is that humans must know how to live together with compassion.

Tran Hong Co