From land disputes… to criminal liability

According to authorities, land disputes are becoming increasingly complex. In addition to civil disputes, there have recently been cases of conflicts and altercations resulting in injuries and requiring criminal prosecution related to land.

The court is hearing the case of intentional infliction of injury by Le Van De, which arose from a dispute over a right of way.

Standing before the witness stand, defendant Le Van De glanced towards the victim's table and repeatedly apologized, hoping the victim would withdraw the request for criminal prosecution. However, victim Tran Thanh Tan remained resolute in demanding that the court try De for the crime he committed.

Just a few months ago, the defendant, Đệ, had a stable job and a happy family. He could never have imagined that a moment of recklessness stemming from a conflict over fence construction would lead to him being found guilty.

The incident began on August 13, 2023, when the victim, Tan, hired someone to build a fence on his land in Tan Phu B1 hamlet, Tan Phuoc Hung commune. At that time, Le Ut Lon (De's father) approached Tan and protested, claiming that Tan was building the fence without leaving a passageway for him. An argument ensued. Le Van De, standing nearby, overheard the argument and grabbed a Thai knife, running towards Tan and attempting to stab him several times, but missed. De then continued to chase and hit Tan on the head. Despite sustaining only 1% injuries, the victim, Tan, insisted on prosecuting his aggressive neighbor.

Previously, in November 2023, the Provincial People's Court also tried a case of intentional infliction of injury when the defendant Duong Van Cat assaulted the victim Duong Gia Huy, causing 3% injury.

The fight between relatives (the defendant Cất is the grandfather of the victim Huy) was merely the straw that broke the camel's back, a consequence of a long-standing land dispute between the two families. In court, Mr. Cất argued that he wanted to discipline his grandson for speaking disrespectfully; however, the grandson insisted on a harsher sentence for his grandfather, claiming that the six-month prison sentence was too lenient.

According to Judge Pham Hoang Lam, Deputy Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Court, several cases have recently arisen from land disputes. This not only causes harm to health and damages family and neighborhood relationships, but also affects public order and security. Currently, with rising land prices and the value of land being extremely high, many cases arise from minor, unclear land boundaries, leading to prolonged conflicts, disputes, and even criminal prosecutions.

According to the Provincial People's Court, land disputes currently stem from various causes, including numerous types such as disputes over land use rights, land lease contracts, inheritance of land use rights; disputes over reclaiming borrowed land, land used for temporary residence, encroachment, land boundary disputes, and disputes over shared access routes... Land-related disputes also occur between various parties, such as family members, friends, and especially neighbors, which are quite common.

In reality, land disputes are unavoidable in life. Therefore, to prevent crimes arising from this type of dispute, local authorities and relevant agencies where conflicts occur need to strengthen their responsibility in monitoring the situation and resolving disagreements and clashes early on.

Mr. Kieu Van Tho, Head of the Jury Panel of the Provincial People's Court, believes that to mitigate this situation, attention should be paid to mediation and understanding the root causes of disputes. Local authorities, upon discovering land disputes, should take preventative measures and responsibly intervene to resolve them. This will help people mediate or rely on the law to achieve fair and reasonable settlements, thoroughly resolving outstanding issues arising from land disputes. This will contribute to reducing the number of disputes in general and cases arising from land disputes in particular.

Text and photos: BB

Source