Driving a car at midnight to steal a safe and embezzling more than half a billion dong
(Baonghean.vn) - Around midnight, Linh drove his private car to a company, broke into the accounting office, broke the safe and stole 540 million VND. Linh used the stolen money to pay off debts and spend it all on personal expenses.
On March 30, Nghe An Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of defendant Tran Van Linh (born 1988), residing in Nghia Minh commune, Nghia Dan district (Nghe An) for the crime of property theft.
Tran Van Linh was a mechanic. Due to debt in business and to have money to pay it off, Linh came up with the idea of stealing property.
Because she had been to Nghe Tinh General Materials Joint Stock Company for a transaction, Linh knew the company's map and location and guessed that there was money in the safe. Therefore, Linh decided tobreak into the companythis to steal property
At about 9:00 p.m. on October 6, 2021, Linh drove a car, carrying a cloth backpack containing a cutter and a hammer to commit theft.
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| Defendant Tran Van Linh. Photo: Tran Vu |
When arriving at the company, Linh climbed the roof to the second floor through the window. Then, Linh broke into the accounting room and found two safes. Linh used a hand saw to cut a hole, took 540 million VND from the company and escaped from the scene by the same way.
Linh used the stolen money to pay off debts to many people, including many small traders at Vinh market. Linh hid the remaining 199 million VND in her rented room and spent it. On October 8, 2021, knowing that her actions had been exposed, Linh went to the police station to surrender.
At the trial, the defendant confessed and admitted his crime. The defendant said that due to the pressure of debt, he took the risk of breaking into the company and stealing the safe. The defendant used the stolen money to pay off debt and for personal expenses.
The panel of judges determined that in this case, the defendant had many mitigating circumstances, such as turning himself in, confessing honestly, showing remorse, voluntarily surrendering, and influencing his family to compensate for all damages as requested by the victim’s legal representative. The victim submitted a petition for a reduction in the defendant’s sentence.
Considering the case comprehensively, the People's Court sentenced defendant Nguyen Van Linh to 7 years and 6 months in prison for the crime of theft of property.
