A 19-year-old female defendant in Da Nang, who stole 9.7 million VND from the billiard hall owner where she worked, was sentenced to 6 months in prison by the trial court. However, the appellate court granted her a suspended sentence for several reasons.
The Da Nang People’s Court recently issued an appellate verdict for N.B.T. (19 years old, residing in Da Nang).
According to the case details, Mr. H.N.D. was the owner of a billiard hall in Da Nang, and T. worked as an employee.
During her employment, the owner directly managed income and expenses and kept the money. After working at the hall for two weeks, T. discovered that the cash drawer in the sales counter was locked but could be opened with any key, leading her to form an intent to steal. T. secretly committed theft three times, totaling 9.7 million VND.
When Mr. D. opened the drawer to count the money, he noticed a significant shortage compared to usual. The owner checked the surveillance cameras and discovered T. had stolen the money.
After stealing the money, T. gave 2.4 million VND to her mother, saying it was money she earned from work to pay for her sibling’s school fees.
T. spent the remaining money on personal expenses; she later surrendered the 2.4 million VND to the investigation agency.
According to the forensic psychiatric evaluation of N.B.T., T. was found to have mild intellectual developmental delay, with limited capacity for awareness and behavioral control.
The trial court sentenced T. to 6 months in prison for property theft.
Subsequently, the defendant and her legal representative filed an appeal, arguing that the sentence imposed by the trial court was too harsh.
The defendant is a person with limited capacity for awareness and behavioral control; she is severely intellectually disabled and receives monthly social assistance, and she frequently suffers from serious illnesses requiring treatment due to declining health; the defendant has shown remorse and recognizes her wrongful actions.
Therefore, she requested the appellate court to consider imposing the lightest possible penalty within the legal framework, to give her an opportunity to develop her future and become a good citizen.
The appellate court determined that the defendant is severely intellectually disabled, with limited capacity for awareness and behavioral control, and is currently receiving monthly social assistance.
The stolen money was partially used by the defendant to pay for her sibling’s school fees.
The defendant made a sincere confession, showed remorse, and together with her family, fully compensated the victim for the damages.
The defendant’s family is in difficult circumstances; the defendant has a good personal record, no prior criminal convictions or offenses, a clear place of residence, and is currently undergoing treatment for kidney disease.
Therefore, the court accepted the appeal, as well as the opinion of the prosecutor’s representative, applying Article 65 of the Penal Code. The court deemed it unnecessary to impose a prison sentence and instead granted the defendant a suspended sentence, placing her under the supervision and education of local authorities during the probation period to allow her to continue medical treatment, demonstrating the leniency of the law.
The court accepted the appeal of defendant T., amended the trial verdict, and sentenced T. to 6 months in prison for property theft, but granted a suspended sentence.
A woman carrying a young boy pretended to buy water, then the boy secretly took a bag containing money and phone cards from an elderly woman. After reviewing the camera footage, the elderly woman said indignantly: ‘The child is not at fault, the woman is to blame.’
Da Nang
Da Nang
Da Nang People’s Court
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