Hanoi (VNA) – The 15th National Assembly on June 25 adopted the Law on amendments and supplements to certain articles of the Penal Code, in which the death penalty for eight criminal offenses is abolished.
Specifically, 429 out of 439 deputies present at the sitting, or 89.75% of the total number of deputies, voted in favour.
The law amends 38 articles and adds one new article on the crime of illegal use of narcotics. It abolishes the death penalty for eight criminal offenses: the crime aimed at overthrowing the people’s government; the crime of sabotaging state infrastructure and technical facilities; the crime of producing and trading counterfeit medicines for treatment and prevention; the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war; the crime of espionage; that of illegally transporting narcotics; embezzlement; and bribe taking.
It also includes a transitional provision: death sentence pronounced before July 1 for persons convicted of the above eight crimes but not yet executed shall no longer be carried out. The Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court will decide to convert the death sentence to life imprisonment.
The new law, which becomes effective from July 1, also increases the minimum prison sentences for several offenses related to the environment, food safety, and drug, while doubling the fines for crimes related to the environment, and the production and trading of counterfeit goods such as food, food additives, medicines for treatment and prevention, animal feed, fertilisers, veterinary drugs, pesticides, plant varieties, livestock breeds, food safety, as well as corruption-related crimes./.
Legislature weighs on abolishing death penalty for drug trafficking
Legislators engaged in the 9th session’s deliberations on May 27 morning over the proposed amendments to the Penal Code that would eliminate the death penalty for illegal drug transport, replacing it with a life imprisonment without sentence reductions.
