Man sentenced for organizing illegal border crossing during the epidemic

On January 19, 2021, Nghe An Provincial People's Court brought the defendantLotVan Thai (born 1991), in Loc village, Thong Thu commune, Que Phong district, for the crime of "Organizing illegal exit and entry for others" right at the peak of the epidemic season.

The trial of defendant Lo Van Thai. Photo: An Quynh

On July 10, 2020, due to their previous acquaintance, Ha Van Mao (currently working in the Lao PDR) texted Lo Van Thai: "Is it possible to bring people to Laos?". When Thai agreed, Mao immediately gave Thai the phone number of Pham Hung Tien (born in 1984; residing in Dien Lien commune, Dien Chau) to contact.

That same evening, Tien took the initiative to call Thai and asked two other friends to go with him. The two sides agreed that when Tien and his friends set foot in Laos, they would pay Thai 5 million VND in wages.

On July 14, 2020, Tien and his friend took a bus to Na Luom Kindergarten (Thong Thu Commune, Que Phong District) to wait for Thai to pick them up. At around 3:00 a.m. on July 15, 2020, Lo Van Thai drove a car to pick up Tien and two friends to go to Laos as scheduled. When they arrived at Muong Phu village, Thong Thu Commune, Lo Van Thai and Tien went to Thai's father-in-law's house to change motorbikes to go on a small-scale road. However, when they reached the Vietnam - Laos border belt area, they were discovered and arrested by the patrol team of Thong Thu Border Guard Station - Nghe An Provincial Border Guard.

Defendant Lo Van Thai. Photo: An Quynh.

At the trial, the panel of judges determined that the defendant's act of transporting people across the border without the control of authorities was a violation of the law, especially at a time when the Government was implementing many measures to prevent and control the epidemic.pandemic; the epidemic prevention forces such as medical staff, police, and border guards are not allowed to rest and are always ready. However, the defendant is entitled to mitigating circumstances such as being sincere and repentant. Considering the case in its entirety, the panel sentenced defendant Lo Van Thai to 12 months in prison for the crime of "Organizing illegal exit and entry for others".

As for Ha Van Mao, who introduced Tien and several others to help Lo Van Thai organize illegal exit to Laos, because no documents proving the transaction agreement between the two parties were collected, there is no basis for investigation.

Pham Van Tien and two others were administratively punished by Thong Thu Border Guard Station.