Escaping from prison for one day results in a one-year prison sentence.

(Baonghean.vn) - On November 27, the Tan Ky District People's Court tried the criminal case against Nguyen Sy Linh (born in 1994), from Trung Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district (a prisoner currently serving his sentence at Team 3, Len Roi Stone Production Area, Prison No. 3, General Department VIII, Ministry of Public Security) for the crime of escaping from detention.

According to the indictment, at approximately 6:15 AM on October 17, 2017, Nguyen Sy Linh and 11 other inmates in his team were taken by correctional officers to the manual brick-making area of ​​Prison No. 3 to work. Nguyen Sy Linh was assigned by the officers to cook breakfast for the inmates in his team.

Defendant Nguyen Sy Linh. Photo: Nguyen Tran.

At approximately 8:15 AM, the prison guard called the team up for breakfast, checked the number of inmates, and gave them a break. At 8:30 AM, after breakfast, the guard allowed the team to resume work, and this time Nguyen Sy Linh was assigned to work with the team.

At 9:15 AM that same day, while working, Nguyen Sy Linh asked the officers for permission to use the restroom with the intention of escaping (at this time, Linh was wearing blue and white striped prison pants and a black T-shirt). Taking advantage of the guards' inattention to other prisoners, Nguyen Sy Linh sneaked out of the restroom, crossed the hilly area, ran into the sugarcane field near the riverbank, took off his prison pants, put on his underwear and black T-shirt, and then headed towards Yen Thanh.

At 4:00 AM on October 18, 2017, Nguyen Sy Linh arrived at his grandfather's house in Trung Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district (this house is currently unoccupied) to look for food but found none. Nguyen Sy Linh went to his uncle's house to call but received no answer, so he opened the kitchen door, took two packets of instant noodles, and returned to his grandfather's house to eat and sleep there.

At approximately 6:15 AM on the same day, Nguyen Sy Linh was discovered and arrested by a task force from Prison No. 3, pursuant to arrest warrant No. 02 dated October 17, 2017, issued by Prison No. 3, General Department VIII, Ministry of Public Security, in Trung Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. No items or documents were found or seized during the search.

Following the incident, prison guard Phan Duc Huu fired a warning shot, promptly reporting to the leadership of Prison No. 3 to jointly pursue and apprehend the suspect, Nguyen Sy Linh, in a short time. During his escape, Nguyen Sy Linh did not commit any illegal acts or cause any serious consequences. Therefore, the act of allowing the prisoner to escape by prison guard Phan Duc Huu does not constitute a crime.

Previously, on August 25, 2015, Linh was sentenced by the Yen Thanh District People's Court to 5 years and 6 months in prison for "theft of property" (the prison term was calculated from April 2, 2015). By the time he was charged and detained for "escaping from detention" on October 31, 2017, Nguyen Sy Linh had served 2 years, 6 months, and 29 days of his sentence. He received a 5-month reduction in his prison sentence. He now has 2 years, 6 months, and 1 day remaining to serve.

At the end of the trial, the panel of judges sentenced Nguyen Sy Linh to 1 year in prison, plus his previous sentence, totaling 3 years and 6 months.

Nguyen Tran