Defendant Thai Khac Thanh was released right in court.

At noon on October 17, after deliberation, the People's Court of Hung Yen province amended the first instance judgment, exempting defendant Thai Khac Thanh from criminal liability and additional fines in the "White Pheasant" case. This judgment takes effect immediately.

Court scene

Accordingly, the Hung Yen provincial court will base on Circular 27 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the management of endangered, precious and rare species; raising common wild animals and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, effective from July 1, 2025.

In the appendix of the list of endangered, precious, and rare species of Circular 27, white pheasants are transferred to group IIB (not banned from commercial farming but must comply with regulations on farming, confinement, and transportation); no longer in group IB (wild animals in danger of extinction, strictly prohibited from exploitation and use for commercial purposes) as at the time of prosecution.

Defendant Thai Khac Thanh at trial

The trial agency affirmed that the prosecution of defendant Thai Khac Thanh for the crime of "Violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious, and rare animals" was the right person, the right crime, and the right law, but at the time of the first instance trial, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment had issued Circular 27; from which it was determined that defendant Thai Khac Thanh's behavior was no longer dangerous to society.

Regarding the reason why the first instance court still applies the old regulations even though Circular 27 takes effect from July 1, 2025, the panel of judges said that it was not until July 16 that this circular was posted on the Government Electronic Information Portal and was not sent to the prosecution agencies to review cases that are being detained, imprisoned, prosecuted, tried and executed.

Through this case, the appellate court recommended that the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment should issue a written notice to the prosecution agencies and relevant agencies; at the same time, it recommended that the Government review legal documents with inconsistent content for timely handling.

After the trial, defendant Thai Khac Thanh thanked the jury and the prosecution agencies for applying a lenient policy, giving him the opportunity to return to his family.

Testimony at the trial showed that defendant Thai Khac Thanh saw that the white pheasant was beautiful so he bought it to raise as an ornamental bird, and then bred it and sold it to others to recover his capital.

After listening to the trial agency and the representative of the prosecutor's office analyze his behavior, defendant Thai Khac Thanh admitted his violation and said that the indictment and prosecution of him were correct.

DO TRUNG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/bi-cao-thai-khac-thanh-duoc-tra-tu-do-ngay-tai-toa-post818525.html