Became a robber because of a 2 million dong debt from his brother-in-law

The trial of Nguyen Trong Cong (37 years old), residing in Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, for the crime of "Extortion of property", took place on a day at the end of July. This is a rare case where Cong, from being a person in debt, became a criminal just because of... debt collection.

The victim in the case is none other than the defendant’s brother-in-law, named Quyen. According to the investigation agency’s records, during the online gambling process, Quyen owed Cong 2 million VND. After repeatedly asking but his brother-in-law did not pay, on November 15, 2018, Cong came to the house to collect the debt.

Here, seeing that Quyen did not admit to the debt, Cong immediately took out a knife he had hidden and threatened: "If you do not pay today, I will take your motorbike and pawn it to pay off the debt." After Cong's threat, the two sides argued loudly and were stopped by some people present.

Defendant Nguyen Trong Cong at trial. Photo: Tran Vu

However, Cong did not stop but held a knife to threaten everyone, and took Mr. Quyen's motorbike worth more than 47 million VND to a pawn shop for 10 million VND. Cong's actions were immediately reported to the police by the victim. Nguyen Trong Cong was arrested and prosecuted for "Extortion of property". The court of first instance sentenced Nguyen Trong Cong to 18 months in prison. After that, Cong filed an appeal, asking for a lighter sentence.

Seemingly accustomed to being questioned by the jury, Cong appeared quite calm at the appeal hearing. This was Cong's third time in court. Before the first instance trial for "Extortion", Cong had been administratively punished for "Intentionally causing injury". In 2012, Cong was sentenced to 30 months in prison for "Robbery".

In court, giving the reason for requesting a reduced sentence, Nguyen Trong Cong presented his difficult circumstances, his wife having undergone several surgeries. “Since the day I got into trouble with the law, my eldest daughter has had to work as a babysitter to earn money to help her parents. I learned about this through a relative. Because of me, my wife and children have been implicated, and I feel very guilty towards everyone,” the Little Justice stated in court.

At the same time, at the trial, the defendant changed the reason for the crime to be because his brother-in-law stole his property, so he used a knife to threaten to take the motorbike to deduct from the debt. However, the defendant did not provide any evidence for his statement.

Before the defendant's testimony, the court analyzed that in this case, the defendant's reasons for the victim's debt or property theft did not change the nature of the case. The defendant's prosecution for the crime of "Extortion of property" was well-founded and in accordance with the law.

The panel of judges analyzed that if the defendant was owed money or robbed by Mr. Quyen, he would need to file a petition with the authorities asking for help, intervention, and resolution of the case, or he could sue in court if the borrower deliberately delayed. Therefore, the defendant's act of coming to their house, holding a knife to threaten them, then stealing their property and pawning it for money to spend without the consent of the property owner was a violation of the law. From being a creditor, the defendant became a robber because of his wrongful debt collection behavior.

In the presence of many people attending the trial, the panel of judges analyzed that this is also a big lesson for many people in the debt collection process. Many people think that when they go to collect debts, they have the right to extort, threaten, and take property from those who owe them. But those actions are completely against the law. Nguyen Trong Cong's lesson is not only for the defendant but also for every citizen. Do not, because of arrogance and disregard for the law, push yourself from being a creditor to becoming a robber and getting into trouble with the law.

Hearing the presiding judge’s analysis, the defendant bowed his head and remained silent. The panel of judges determined that the defendant’s actions were serious, dangerous to society, and caused panic among the people. The defendant had a criminal record but did not learn from it and continued to commit crimes, demonstrating that he disregarded the law.

The District Court's 18-month prison sentence for extortion was the right person, the right crime, and in accordance with the law. At the appeal hearing, the defendant did not present any mitigating circumstances, so the court decided to reject the defendant's appeal, uphold the sentence for Nguyen Trong Cong, and sentence the defendant to 18 months in prison for "Extortion".