Death sentences imposed on corrupt Vietnamese officials will now be
commuted to life in prison if they pay back at least 75 percent of the
illegal money they made.
The online newspaper VnExpress said the new regulation was part of the
revised Penal Code that an overwhelmingly majority passed in the National Assembly on Friday.
Under the revision, which takes effect July 1, 2016, the country also
will abolish the death penalty for seven crimes: surrendering to the
enemy, opposing order, destruction of projects of national security
importance, robbery, drug possession, drug appropriation, and the
production and trade of fake food.
The revised law will also spare the lives of those who are 75 years old or older.
The ruling Communist Party has made fighting corruption one of its top priorities.
However, some lawmakers had voiced opposition to the changes when they were debated in the assembly in June, arguing that they would weaken the fight against corruption.
"This would create a loophole for corrupt officials to use money to
trade for their life," state media quoted deputy Do Ngoc Nien as saying
at the time.
International human rights groups and some Western countries have been urging Vietnam to abolish its death penalty.
No comments:
Post a Comment