"White Pheasant" case: Defendant Thai Khac Thanh is allowed to return home, prohibited from leaving his residence

On August 12, 2025, Chief Justice of the People's Court of Hung Yen province Do Manh Tang officially sent a document to the Chief Prosecutor of the People's Procuracy of Hung Yen province, requesting an appeal against the first-instance criminal judgment of the first-instance criminal case "Violating regulations on the protection of endangered and rare animals".

The Petition clearly states: The People's Court of Hung Yen province recommends that the Chief Prosecutor of the People's Procuracy of Hung Yen province appeal the First Instance Criminal Judgment No. 35/2025/HSST dated August 8, 2025 of the People's Court of Region 5 - Hung Yen according to the provisions of law, so that the Provincial People's Court can review the entire case and the first instance judgment.

Immediately upon receiving various feedbacks on social networks, the Chief Justice of the People's Court of Hung Yen province coordinated with the Chief Prosecutor of the Provincial People's Procuracy and the leaders of the Provincial Police to grasp the entire content of the case; requested the Chief Justice of the People's Court of Region 5, the Chief Prosecutor of the People's Procuracy of Region 5 and the Judge - Chairman of the trial, the Prosecutor - Prosecutor of the trial and the practice of the right to prosecute at the trial to report and explain.

Through studying the entire case file, the first-instance criminal judgment No. 35/2025/HSST dated August 8, 2025 of the People's Court of Region 5 - Hung Yen and the provisions of law, it is found that the first-instance court has not applied Circular No. 27/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 24, 2025 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment regulating the management of endangered, precious and rare species; raising common wild animals and implementing the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (effective from July 1, 2025).

Accordingly, in the appendix of the list of endangered, precious and rare species issued with Circular No. 27/2025/TT-BNNMT, the white pheasant has the scientific name Lophura nycthemera, belongs to the class of birds (Aves), order of chickens (Galliformes), family of pheasants (Phasianidae) in group IIB (no longer in group IB).

The first instance judgment determined that the 13 individuals seized from Thai Khac Thanh were "White Pheasants, a bird species currently recorded in Appendix I - Group IB, Decree No. 84/2021/ND-CP of the Government, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 06/2019/ND-CP dated January 22, 2019 of the Government on the management of endangered, precious and rare forest plants and animals and the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)" and declared the defendant Thai Khac Thanh guilty of the crime of "Violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious and rare animals" as prescribed in Point b, Clause 2, Article 244 of the Penal Code, which is not in accordance with changes in policies and laws.

On August 13, 2025, in the Appeal Decision No. 09/QD-VKS, the Chief Prosecutor of Hung Yen Provincial People's Procuracy appealed the entire above judgment in the direction of requesting to annul the first instance judgment for reinvestigation.

On the same day, the People's Court of Hung Yen province issued a Decision to change the preventive measure against defendant Thai Khac Thanh from Temporary Detention to Prohibition from leaving the place of residence, pending retrial of the entire case according to the provisions of law.