Young man sentenced to 6 months in prison for stealing 4 chickens.
(Baonghean.vn) - For stealing two pairs of hens worth only 500,000 VND, Phan Van Kieu was sentenced to 6 months in prison by the Do Luong District People's Court because he had previously been fined for chicken theft but his criminal record had not yet been expunged.
On October 28th, the People's Court of Do Luong District held a first-instance criminal trial to hear the case against defendant Phan Van Kieu (born in 1991), residing in Hamlet 6, Da Son Commune, Do Luong District, for the crime of "Theft of property"According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 173 of the Penal Code, this occurred in Xuan Son commune, Do Luong district."
According to the indictment, at approximately 10:30 AM on September 13, 2022, Phan Van Kieu, who had a prior criminal record for theft (having been fined 2,500,000 VND by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Son commune, Do Luong district on June 3, 2022, for stealing chickens), drove his motorbike to Ru Cuoi in Xuan Son commune, Do Luong district, to catch bees, but found none, so he returned home.
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Phan Van Kieu at the trial on October 28. Photo: Truong Duyen |
Because he was a drug addict, on his way home, Kieu thought about how to get money to buy drugs for his use. When passing by the chicken farm of Mr. Son's family in Hamlet 4, Xuan Son Commune, Phan Van Kieu spotted a flock of mature chickens belonging to Mr. Son's family and conceived the idea of stealing them. Acting on this thought, Kieu used a sack and a bamboo stick to herd four of Mr. Son's hens into the sack. He then hid the four stolen chickens in an abandoned house, waiting for an opportunity to sell them.
However, upon returning home and realizing the consequences of his actions, on the afternoon of September 13, 2022, Phan Van Kieu brought the sack containing the four stolen chickens to the Xuan Son Commune Police Station in Do Luong District to surrender and confess to his theft.
Before the trial, defendant Phan Van Kieu honestly confessed to his crimes. He explained that due to his dissolute lifestyle, drug addiction, and lack of stable employment, he resorted to petty theft.
According to the trial panel, Phan Van Kieu's actions did not constitute the crime of theft because the value of the stolen property was only 500,000 VND. However, because Kieu had just been fined administratively for stealing chickens, and therefore had a prior criminal record that had not been expunged, the trial panel sentenced Phan Van Kieu to 6 months imprisonment.
