Became a robber because of a debt of 2 million VND 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 when 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 Quyen not admitting to the debt, Cong immediately took out a knife he had hidden and threatened: "If you don't 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 the 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.

It seemed that Cong was too used to being questioned by the jury, so at the appeal hearing, he appeared quite calm. Because this was the third time Cong appeared in court. Before the first instance trial for the crime of "Extortion of property", Cong had been administratively punished for the act of "Intentionally causing injury". In 2012, Cong continued to be sentenced to 30 months in prison for the crime of "Robbery".

In court, giving reasons 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 babysit her younger siblings 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 presented in court.

At the same time, at the trial, the defendant changed the reason for the crime to be that 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 needed to file a petition with the authorities 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, threatening them with a knife, and 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 great 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 the property of their debtors. 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.

Listening to the 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 is the right person, the right crime, and the right 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 the crime of "Extortion".