Giving a bribe of 8 billion VND, what punishment will Luong Bang Quang face?

On October 23, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department issued a decision to prosecute Luong Bang Quang (born in 1982, residing in Chanh Hung ward, musician - singer) and Vo Thi Ngoc Ngan (born in 1998, from Binh Dinh, now Gia Lai) for the crime of "Giving bribes". At the same time, Le Sy Cuong (born in 1987, residing in Ben Thanh ward, Ho Chi Minh City) was prosecuted for the crime of "Bribery brokerage".

Accordingly, the investigation agency has issued an arrest warrant for Luong Bang Quang and Le Sy Cuong. This is an expansion of the case of “manufacturing and trading in counterfeit food products” led by Ngan 98.

The case is attracting special public attention. According to lawyer Dang Van Cuong, Head of Chinh Phap Law Office, the prosecution of Luong Bang Quang for bribery is surprising because he is not being prosecuted as an accomplice in the production and trade of counterfeit goods, but is instead being charged with bribery under Article 364 of the Penal Code.

According to the lawyer, the motive for giving bribes often appears in lawbreakers, aiming to escape punishment or reduce responsibility. 'Many people think that money can solve legal problems, so they intend to use material benefits to bribe public authorities. However, this is a serious violation of judicial activities, so the Penal Code stipulates that giving bribes, receiving bribes or brokering bribes are all handled very seriously,' the lawyer emphasized.

Lawyer Dang Van Cuong analyzed that the nature of bribery is 'using benefits to bribe a person in authority to ask them to do or not do something for the benefit of the briber'. He cited Article 364 of the Penal Code, according to which the briber can be fined up to 200 million VND, non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisoned from 6 months to 20 years. In case the bribe is money, property or other material benefits worth 1 billion VND or more, the prison sentence is from 12 to 20 years.

With the investigation agency determining that Luong Bang Quang and Ngan 98 gave a bribe of 8 billion VND, the lawyer said that both are facing Clause 4, Article 364 of the Penal Code. 'If convicted, the two defendants will face a sentence of 12 to 20 years in prison,' lawyer Cuong emphasized.

According to the lawyer, the act of giving bribes is considered a crime from the moment of agreement or transfer of benefits to the intermediary or recipient, 'regardless of whether the bribe has been successfully given or whether the recipient has received it or not'. This is the reason why, although the case only recorded the act of giving and brokering bribes, but has not proven the act of receiving bribes, the offender is still prosecuted.

Notably, the lawyer emphasized that the actions of Le Sy Cuong, the intermediary, were considered bribery brokerage under Article 365 of the Penal Code. This article stipulates that bribe brokers can be fined from 20 to under 200 million VND, reformed without detention for up to 3 years or imprisoned from 6 months to 3 years. In cases where the bribe is worth 1 billion VND or more, the prison sentence is from 8 to 15 years.

Lawyer Dang Van Cuong said that the fact that Luong Bang Quang and Ngan 98 were both prosecuted shows that the prosecution agency believes that both had the same intention to commit the act, and that there are enough signs of complicity. In the coming time, the investigation agency will continue to clarify the cash flow, motives, methods of agreement, as well as the responsibilities of each person in the case.

The lawyer also predicted that the investigation process would be more complicated when the investigating agency considers Luong Bang Quang's role in the business activities of ZuBu Company. 'If there is evidence to prove that Quang knew the goods were counterfeit but still participated in helping to sell them, he could continue to be prosecuted as an accomplice in the crime of manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods,' he said.