Man sentenced to prison for... 1m3 of rosewood

On October 26, the People's Court of Cu Kuin District ( Dak Lak ) opened a first-instance trial of the criminal case against Mr. Tran Van Tien (54 years old, residing in Ea Ktur commune, Cu Kuin district) for the crime of theft of property.

Defendant Tran Van Tien (far right) at the first instance trial (Photo: Uy Nguyen).

According to the indictment, on October 18, 2022, implementing the project of the Eastern bypass of Buon Ma Thuot City, the Management Board of the Project for Investment in Construction of Traffic Works and Rural Development of Dak Lak Province and the Land Fund Development Center of Cu Kuin District paid compensation for 4 Cassia trees to Viet Duc Coffee Company Limited (Viet Duc Coffee Company), with an amount of over 12.6 million VND.

On October 21, 2022, the Land Fund Development Center of Cu Kuin District led the site clearance unit to cut down 4 cassia trees. At this time, Mr. Tien (who had been contracting coffee from Viet Duc Coffee Company since 1994) said that the 4 cassia trees were in dispute between the two contracted plots of land, so he obstructed and did not allow them to be cut down.

At about 3:00 p.m. the same day, Mr. Tien used a chainsaw to cut a rosewood tree and cut it into 3 pieces.

On October 22, 2022, Mr. Tien hired someone to transport a piece of rosewood to a sawmill to be cut into 3 pieces of wood. According to the appraisal conclusion, the piece of rosewood weighed more than 1m3 of round wood, worth more than 2.6 million VND. After that, Mr. Tien was prosecuted and charged with theft of property.

At the trial, Mr. Tien’s defense attorney requested the panel of judges to postpone the trial to clarify some conflicting issues when convicting Mr. Tien of stealing the muong wood. However, the attorney’s request was rejected and the trial continued.

During the debate, Mr. Tien's defense attorney continuously presented evidence to prove that accusing Mr. Tien of theft was inappropriate.

The lawyer said that the valuation of this block of wood was not in accordance with regulations, and that an objective appraisal was needed to determine the real value of the block of wood. He also asked the panel of judges to consider reducing the sentence for his client because Mr. Tien had spent decades taking care of the coffee plantation, including the row of muong trees.

However, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Cu Kuin district continued to maintain the opinion of charging defendant Tien and proposed to sentence him to the sentence as proposed in the indictment.

At the end of the trial, the panel sentenced defendant Tran Van Tien to 1 year and 3 months in prison for theft of property.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/phap-luat/nguoi-dan-ong-linh-an-tu-vi-1m3-go-muong-20231026184100198.htm