Concealment of crime, although not promised in advance, but a citizen who, after knowing that a crime has been committed, conceals it, will also be prosecuted.
Defendants in the case of murder, concealment and failure to report crimes in Long My town.
In recent years, besides the majority of people who have fulfilled their obligation to report crimes to competent authorities, contributing to ensuring security and social order, there are also a number of people who do not understand the law, deliberately conceal or do not report crimes, leading to bad consequences for themselves.
Creating conditions for criminals to escape
In the murder case in which defendant Le Pham Vi Binh, residing in Long My town, directly committed the crime, in addition to being responsible for his actions, the case also has other defendants being prosecuted.
Specifically, Vo Van Nhut, Dang Van Chieu and Nguyen Huu Thoai were all tried for the crimes of concealing criminals and failing to report criminals.
According to the case file, Binh had previously sought out his ex-girlfriend, Ms. N., many times to demand 500,000 VND but had not met her. Binh claimed that Mr. Ngo Van Tu, residing in Long Phu commune, Long My town, knew where his girlfriend was, but deliberately kept her from meeting him.
At around 3:00 p.m. on August 14, 2023, Binh prepared a knife and asked Thoai to drive a motorbike to Tu's rented accommodation in Binh Thanh B area, Binh Thanh ward, Long My town to talk, and then a fight broke out.
During the fight, Binh stabbed Tu in the abdomen, injuring him and causing his death on the way to the emergency room. After committing the crime, Binh returned to his rented house in Thuan An Ward, Long My Town, used drugs with Thoai, and then fled. On August 17, Binh surrendered to the Long My Town Police.
The representative of the prosecutor's office exercising the right to prosecute at court said that, for Vo Van Nhut, Dang Van Chieu and Nguyen Huu Thoai, although they clearly knew that Binh was the one who directly caused Tu's death and escaped, they did not report to the police and even created conditions and helped Binh escape.
Specifically, Chieu drove Binh to the bus station, got in the car and hid, provided a phone SIM card for Binh to use; Nhut encouraged and asked Chieu to drive Binh to take refuge, provided money for Binh to use, and when invited to work by the police, he still deliberately gave an insincere statement, making it difficult to arrest him.
As for Thoại, even though he personally drove Bình to meet the victim Tú and witnessed Bình using a sharp knife to stab Tú, he still drove Bình home and did not report the incident to the police.
During the trial, the panel sentenced defendant Nhut to 12 months in prison, Chieu to 6 months in prison for concealing a crime, and Thoai to 9 months of non-custodial reform for failing to report a crime.
Serious criminal behavior
The fight against crime is the responsibility of the whole society, of everyone, not just the police. When discovering an act or incident with signs of crime, everyone must promptly report it to the competent authority. If they fail to do so, they will be held responsible before the law for the crime of "failure to report a crime" or if they conceal or obstruct the prosecution agency in the investigation later, they may be prosecuted for the crime of "concealing a crime" according to the provisions of the Penal Code.
According to lawyer Ho Quoc Thanh, Provincial Bar Association, criminal law stipulates that concealing a crime is not a promise in advance, but after knowing that a crime has been committed, concealing the criminal, traces, evidence of the crime or other acts that hinder the detection, investigation, and handling of the criminal, is a crime. Those who conceal crimes will be prosecuted.
Regarding the act of not reporting a crime, according to lawyer Nguyen Hoang Manh, Vice Chairman of the Provincial Lawyers Association, the law stipulates that failure to report a crime is understood as anyone who knows that a crime is being prepared, is being committed or has been committed but does not report it to the authorities for handling and prevention, must bear criminal responsibility for the crime of not reporting a crime as prescribed in Article 390 of the Penal Code.
“Failure to report here simply means knowing but not reporting. In the case of knowing that someone else has committed a crime, not reporting it and also helping the offender conceal it, escape, and make it difficult for the investigation, then one will be held criminally responsible depending on the specific act,” said lawyer Manh.
Article 18 of the Penal Code stipulates on concealing crimes. 1. Any person who, without prior promise, after knowing that a crime has been committed, conceals the criminal, hides traces or evidence of the crime, or commits other acts that hinder the detection, investigation and handling of the criminal, shall be criminally responsible for the crime of concealing a crime in the cases prescribed by this Code. 2. A person who conceals a crime is the grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, child, grandchild, sibling, wife or husband of the offender and shall not be held criminally responsible as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, except in cases of concealing crimes against national security or other particularly serious crimes prescribed in Article 389 of this Code. |
Article and photos: BB
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