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First cash fine imposed instead of imprisonment

Updated: 14:00’ - 03/04/2017

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on March 27 imposed a fine of VND 1.2 billion on Ha Thi Thuy Duong, a former flight attendant of South Korea’s Asiana Airlines, for illegally transporting foreign currency into Vietnam in November 2015.

This was the first criminal case in which a cash fine is imposed instead of imprisonment as the 2015 Penal Code is applied in favor of the defendant.

Previously, prosecutors had proposed a jail sentence of 5-6 years for Duong according to Clause 3, Article 154 of the 1999 Penal Code but under the new criminal law, those who illegally transport foreign currencies across borders will be either fined VND 1-3 billion or sentenced to 5-10 years’ imprisonment.

The fine was applauded by legal experts who agreed imprisonment should only be imposed on serious crimes harmful to the society.

Realities have showed that most defendants appropriating state property failed to return such property.

Experts thus suggested to increase fines rather than imprisonment for less-serious or economic crimes.- (VLLF)