Nha Trang gambling case: Court annuls first instance verdict

Although the gambling case in Nha Trang City has been tried at first instance, this level has not yet clarified the criminal record of one defendant, nor has it completely resolved the amount of money used for gambling. This is the reason why the appellate court annulled the first instance judgment for reinvestigation and retrial.

Cockfighting betting stance

According to the records, in early July 2019, Dang Kim Phuong (born in 1980, residing in Vinh Nguyen Ward, Nha Trang) opened a cockfighting arena on his family's vacant land for many people to come and bet on cockfighting. Phuong prepared drying papers, chicken blinds (where the fighting cocks are kept) and many other items for cockfighting. Each owner of the cockfighting cocks had to pay Phuong 500,000 VND for the arena (service fee). In addition, Phuong also sold soft drinks and food to bettors and spectators.

On March 4, 2020, two people named Tu and Luan (unknown background) contacted Phuong to bet on cockfighting at the cockfighting arena. Phuong agreed and received 500,000 VND from each person. At noon that day, while the pair of cocks were betting, they were caught red-handed by the authorities. Investigation determined that 9 people were involved in the betting.

Representative of the Provincial People's Procuracy speaking at the appeal hearing.

On June 14, 2022, the Nha Trang City People's Court held a first-instance trial and determined that the defendant Phuong used the location under his management for gamblers to participate in betting with a total bet amount of 103.2 million VND. The defendant Phuong's actions constituted the crime of gambling. The actions of the defendant Nguyen Phan Thanh Phong (born in 1976, residing in Vinh Nguyen ward) and 3 other defendants constituted the crime of gambling. The defendant Phong had 2 previous convictions for disturbing public order and gambling, reoffended, had not had his criminal record cleared, and committed the crime intentionally, so he was considered a dangerous recidivist, which is a factor in determining the penalty. Therefore, the first-instance court sentenced the defendant Phuong to 1 year in prison for gambling, with an additional fine of 20 million VND; the defendant Phong to 3 years and 6 months in prison for gambling. The other defendants were also sentenced. After that, defendant Phuong appealed for a reduction in sentence; defendant Phong appealed for a reduction in sentence and a suspended sentence.

Some content is not clear

On May 25, the Provincial People's Court heard the appeal of this case. At the trial, the representative of the Provincial People's Procuracy requested the court to cancel the first instance judgment on the grounds that: The first instance judgment determined that the defendant Phong had 2 previous convictions, had re-offended, had not had his criminal record cleared, and had committed the crime intentionally, so he was considered a dangerous recidivist, which was a determining factor. However, the first instance judgment dated September 6, 1994 of the Nha Trang City People's Court showed that the defendant committed the crime of disturbing public order on May 22, 1994. The defendant's birth certificate (copy) showed that he was born on June 23, 1976; while his citizen identification card showed his date of birth as June 5, 1976. Thus, on the date of the crime on May 22, 1994, the defendant was not yet 18 years old. On the other hand, the defendant committed a less serious crime, and according to regulations, he is not subject to a criminal record for the 1994 verdict. The defendant's date of birth on the birth certificate and on the citizen identification card also do not match. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate and clarify to determine the defendant's exact age, thereby having a basis to determine whether the defendant's criminal behavior in the verdict dated June 14, 2022 is a case of recidivism or dangerous recidivism.

Regarding the amount of money confiscated and paid to the state budget, the records determined that Dinh Van Ni bet 29 million VND; Nguyen Duc Hoang bet 28.5 million VND; Pham Dung bet 5.35 million VND; Phong bet 34.2 million VND. However, the first instance judgment dated June 14, 2022 only ordered the confiscation and payment to the state budget of 37.51 million VND according to the payment receipt dated March 22, 2021 (of which, Phuong collected 1 million VND in cash, Hoang 12.08 million VND, Phong 14.83 million VND, Dung 9.6 million VND). This does not ensure Clause 1, Article 47 of the Penal Code. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to consider collecting the money used for gambling to pay to the state budget according to regulations.

After deliberation, the appellate panel accepted the prosecutor's request and determined that the investigation at the first instance level was incomplete and the appellate level could not supplement it, so the first instance judgment was annulled for reinvestigation and retrial.

NGUYEN VU

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