The repentance of the 'young father' who took people abroad during the 'Covid season'

Blame limited legal awareness

Born and raised in Thong Thu commune, Que Phong district, Lo Van Thai (30 years old) is quite familiar with the Thong Thu border gate area to Laos. Thai also spent time in Laos doing business. Therefore, when someone contacted him to ask him to take him to Laos via a shortcut to avoid inspection by authorities during the timeCovid-19 epidemicThe situation was complicated, Thai agreed. In return, Thai asked these people to pay him.

Specifically, on July 10, 2020, Thai received a phone call from a man named Ha Van Mao (currently in Laos) asking "Can you take people to Laos?". Thai replied "yes". Mao then said that there were 3 men in Dien Chau district who wanted to go to Laos. That evening, one of the 3 men in Dien Chau district contacted Thai about wanting to go to Laos.

On July 14, the three people took a bus to Thong Thu commune to meet Thai. At the meeting, the two sides agreed that Thai would take the three people to Laos, in exchange for the other side paying Thai 5 million VND. Early the next morning, Thai used his father's car and his father-in-law's motorbike to take the three people to the Vietnam - Laos border belt area with the intention of taking them to the other side of the border. However, Thai's actions were discovered by Thong Thu Border Post - Nghe An Provincial Border Guard.

Thai was prosecuted and brought to trial for the crime of "Organizing illegal exit for others”. At the recent trial, the defendant argued that he did not know that sending people to Laos was a violation of the law. “I thought I was just helping people find jobs during the pandemic, when work was difficult,” Thai testified in court. The defendant said he had limited legal awareness and said he had not received any payment from the three men.

After the court explained his wrongdoings, the defendant expressed remorse. Thai explained his difficult circumstances and the fact that he had not been able to successfully send people abroad to ask for a lighter sentence.

Thai is very remorseful for his actions that have caused his family members grief. Photo: Tran Vu

Holding the right to prosecute at the trial, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Nghe An province stated that the defendant's actions directly violated the administrative management order in the field of immigration in Vietnam; violated the normal and proper operations of state agencies and social organizations, reducing the effectiveness and efficiency of state administrative management in the field of immigration.

The crime that Thai committed during the complicated development of the Covid-19 epidemic is a condemnable act. During the outbreak of the epidemic, the state has implemented many drastic solutions to prevent the source of infection, including border control and strict management of people entering and leaving the country to ensure safety. Anti-epidemic forces such as health, police, border guards, etc. have been on duty day and night to prevent the epidemic. However, just for personal gain, the defendant organized to send people abroad illegally when the epidemic situation was complicated. The defendant's criminal act must be condemned. The representative of Nghe An Provincial People's Procuracy proposed to sentence Lo Van Thai to 12 to 15 months in prison.

“I am sorry to my wife and newborn child”

Hearing the prosecutor's verdict, the defendant Thai expressed remorse and asked for a lighter sentence. The defendant presented his family's difficult circumstances, his wife had just given birth to their second child over a month ago, to ask for a lighter sentence.

During the court's deliberations, Thai confided that since he got involved with the law, he has always lived in a state of anxiety and fear. The defendant's sadness grew even greater when he saw his relatives sad. "The day I was arrested, my wife was pregnant. She was very shocked when she received the bad news about me. I feel guilty towards my wife and children," Thai expressed regret when mentioning his relatives. According to Thai, because his wife had just given birth to a child over a month ago, she could not attend the trial. This man always hoped to receive the lowest sentence so that he could return home soon to make up for his wife and children. "This is a big lesson, I will never do it again," Thai said.

The panel of judges determined that, although he did not have the authority to send people abroad, due to economic motives, taking advantage of the Vietnam-Laos border area and the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, Lo Van Thai organized the illegal departure of 3 people to Laos to receive 5 million VND.

The crime that Thai committed took place during the complicated time of the Covid-19 epidemic, so it needs to be strictly handled. However, it is also necessary to consider some mitigating circumstances for the defendant such as honest confession, repentance... Considering the whole case, the People's Court sentenced Lo Van Thai to 12 months in prison for the crime of "Organizing illegal exit for others". As for the 3 men who asked Thai to take them to Laos, Thong Thu Border Guard Station issued a decision to punish them for administrative violations.

Having been released on bail, Thai hurriedly left the court with a few relatives. Before leaving, Thai said he would take advantage of the days he did not have to serve his sentence to take care of his wife who was in confinement and their newborn child to partially make up for his mistake.