"Paying money to avoid the death penalty is tantamount to condoning corruption."

One of the key issues that National Assembly deputies focused on during the discussion of the amended Penal Code on June 16th was the abolition of the death penalty for certain offenses and the prosecution of legal entities for violations of the law.

Lax regulations will create loopholes for a "national scourge".

The draft amended Penal Code stipulates that the death penalty shall not be carried out for persons sentenced to death for crimes with economic motives if, after sentencing, they have proactively and fundamentally mitigated the consequences of their crimes, actively cooperated with authorities in detecting, investigating, and prosecuting crimes, or performed significant meritorious acts.

Many National Assembly deputies disagreed with this regulation and agreed with the assessment of the National Assembly's Judicial Committee - the body reviewing the draft law - that, given the continued existence of the death penalty, the provision regarding cases where the death penalty is not carried out must be considered with utmost caution to ensure the strictness of the law and create social consensus.

Representative Do Ngoc Nien (Binh Thuan) argued that this regulation is not on par with other death penalty provisions, creating loopholes for corruption and allowing the abuse of money to buy one's life.

Representative Do Ngoc Nien (Binh Thuan)

According to the delegates, failing to carry out the death penalty under the above conditions is tantamount to encouraging, condoning, and covering up corruption. Meanwhile, corruption is a crime with economic motives, a national scourge that undermines the country and threatens the survival of the regime.

"We have been resolute in preventing and combating corruption, but so far the results have not been as desired, and this type of crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Public opinion is extremely dissatisfied and demands that we take even more decisive action," the delegate expressed.

Representative Do Ngoc Nien expressed that, in order to prevent and eliminate corruption, we should have stricter penalties, but instead we are doing the opposite. The State needs to fully recover assets in corruption cases, but this should not lead to a loss of public trust or a shift in the balance of justice. Reducing penalties by allowing compensation for damages is unacceptable.

"Applying this law is tantamount to abolishing the death penalty for corruption. Doing so would inevitably lead to social chaos, and the people would certainly not forgive us if the law were passed. Therefore, I propose removing this point," the representative said.

It benefits those who are rich and have a lot of money.

According to delegate Giàng Thị Bình (Lào Cai), the provisions in the draft law are still very general, unclear about what constitutes "fundamentally rectifying the consequences caused by oneself," and unclear about which groups of crimes have economic motives.

In reality, crimes related to corruption, property infringement, and drug-related offenses all have economic motives. Without clear and strict regulations, this could lead to abuse and arbitrary application of the law.

Giang Thi Binh (Lao Cai)

Sharing the same viewpoint, delegate Nguyen Thi Kha (Tra Vinh) also suggested that careful consideration is needed to ensure the strict enforcement of the law and create fairness in society.

The delegates raised the question: What constitutes fundamentally addressing the serious consequences? The primary purpose of drug trafficking is economic. The regulations in the draft law benefit those with a lot of money and resources.

"If they weren't caught, they would live comfortably and luxuriously for the rest of their lives. Even if they are caught, paying the fines can buy them their lives. This makes the law unfair and distorted. The state budget needs money, but not at the expense of all dangers," the representative stated.

According to VOV