Le Van Dung and Chau Thanh Phong, both over 50 years old and residing in Can Tho City, lacked stable employment. Their advanced age and declining work capacity made making a living increasingly difficult, leaving them frequently in financial straits. Instead of seeking legitimate work, Dung chose a wrong path, persuading Phong to rob lottery tickets.
The trial of defendants accused of lottery ticket fraud. Photo: ÚT CHUYỀN
Driven by misguided thinking, Dung and Phong discussed and agreed on a simple plan to commit the crime: taking advantage of the lottery ticket vendor's inattention, quickly snatching the stack of tickets and running away. On May 3, 2025, the two acted, targeting an elderly lottery ticket vendor and stealing 88 tickets.
One victim of the robbery, Mrs. NLB (61 years old), is still in shock as she recounts the incident. “I sell lottery tickets from early morning until late at night, earning only a few tens of thousands of dong a day. That day, Dung and Phong pretended to buy tickets, and as soon as I handed them over, they snatched them away. I was both scared and humiliated, not knowing where to get the money to pay the agent. Losing the tickets meant losing my meal for the day,” Mrs. B choked out.
At the trial at the People's Court of Region 5, Dung admitted to being the instigator, directly conceiving the idea and recruiting his accomplices: "I am old, have no stable job, and am always short of money. Seeing people win the lottery and change their lives, I also dreamed of having some money to live less difficultly, so I came up with the idea of snatching lottery tickets to sell or wait to win. I am very remorseful and apologize to the victims." After considering the nature of the act, the role of each defendant, and related circumstances, the court sentenced Dung to 5 years in prison and Phong to 1 year and 6 months in prison for the crime of robbery.
The dream of "changing one's life" through lottery ticket theft is still creeping into a segment of young people, raising an alarm about juvenile crime. At the end of 2024, Huynh Minh S and Le Thanh C targeted a street lottery ticket vendor to rob. Taking advantage of the vendor's vulnerability, the two stole 75 lottery tickets, worth 750,000 VND, from Ms. LTM.
S is between 16 and under 18 years old, and C is between 14 and under 16 years old. Despite being minors, the actions of both constituted crimes against social order and safety, and the property rights of citizens. Their broken family circumstances, lack of parental care, and low educational level were considered as mitigating factors by the court, but these did not alter their legal responsibility. S was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison, and C to 1 year in prison.
The dream of a better life from a lottery ticket ended behind prison doors. That's the high price for a moment of recklessness, a misguided belief that one could survive by stealing the property and hopes of others. From these cases, besides strict legal action, street lottery ticket vendors also need to raise their awareness of self-protection, limit the number of tickets they carry, sell in groups, or promptly inform people around them when they notice any unusual signs…
UT CHUYEN
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/giat-ve-so-vi-muon-doi-doi--a473891.html
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