"Nail bandits" can face 12 years in prison and fines of up to 500 million VND.

Dan Tri The draft Penal Code (amended) is being widely consulted, adding a new article compared to the current law to handle the act of intentionally spreading sharp objects (nails) on the road with the highest fine of up to 500 million VND, imprisonment of up to 12 years.

"Nail thieves" appeared on Nhat Tan Bridge (Hanoi) not long ago (Photo: Xuan Ngoc).

According to Article 163 of the draft Penal Code (amended), which stipulates “Crime of intentionally placing or spreading sharp objects on the road”, anyone who intentionally places or spreads sharp objects on the road or has been administratively sanctioned for this act but still violates will be fined from 30 to 100 million VND, sentenced to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisoned from 3 months to 3 years.

If the crime falls into one of the following cases, the offender shall be fined from 100-500 million VND or imprisoned from 2-7 years: Committing the crime 2 times or more; on highways; on mountain passes, slopes or other dangerous roads; causing serious consequences.

The prison sentence for “nail bandits” will be increased sharply from 7-12 years if the act is determined to “cause very serious or especially serious consequences; dangerous recidivism”.

Speaking with Dan Tri reporter on the afternoon of September 3, Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Deputy Head of the Department of Criminal and Administrative Law (Ministry of Justice) said that the above proposal was made by the drafting committee of the Penal Code (amended) in response to the fact that many acts of spreading nails on the road have appeared recently.

According to Mr. Dung, currently "nail bandits" are being prosecuted under Article 203 of the Penal Code, which stipulates the crime of "obstructing road traffic".

“Applying this regulation requires waiting for the consequences to occur before handling it, which is no longer suitable in the current situation and does not ensure deterrence. The drafting committee proposed such a severe punishment to ensure deterrence and high prevention against a very dangerous behavior that carries many risks leading to serious traffic accidents,” said Mr. Dung.

It is known that this new law has received many opinions in agreement and support, but there are also some concerns and disagreements.

According to Dan Tri