Will the act of threatening to extort or take away another person's property be punished by imprisonment or fine?

Reply:The crime of extortion is understood as the act of threatening to use force or other means to intimidate others in order to appropriate property. According to Clause 1, Article 170 of Chapter XVI of the 2015 Penal Code and the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the 2017 Penal Code, the crime of extortion is defined as follows:

1. Anyone who threatens to use force or uses other means to mentally intimidate another person in order to appropriate property shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 01 year to 05 years.

2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 03 years to 10 years:

a) Organized;

b) Professional in nature;

c) Committing a crime against a person under 16 years of age, a woman known to be pregnant, an elderly or defenseless person;

d) Appropriation of property worth from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000;

d) Adversely affecting social security, order and safety;

e) Dangerous recidivism.

3. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 07 years to 15 years:

a) Appropriation of property worth from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

b) Taking advantage of natural disasters and epidemics.

4. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 12 to 20 years:

a) Appropriation of property worth VND 500,000,000 or more;

b) Taking advantage of war and emergency situations.

5. The offender may also be fined from VND 10,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 or have part or all of his/her property confiscated.

Thus, anyone who threatens to use force or uses other means to intimidate others in order to appropriate property may be prosecuted for criminal liability with a penalty of 1 to 20 years. Additional penalties for offenders may include a fine of 10,000,000 to 100,000,000 VND or confiscation of part or all of their property.