National Assembly debates corruption, juvenile crime

Most deputies agreed the fight against corruption has made progress, contributing to economic development and social order and security.

However, they agreed that the results of the fight still fail to meet voters’ expectations.

Deputy Truong Thi Yen Linh from the southernmost province of Ca Mau said many voters asked whether the anti-corruption fight had taken effect when the listing of assets held by officials or Party members - as an important anti-corruption tool - has yet to be transparently and publicly utilised.

More than 81 percent of people who are responsible for listing their assets and incomes at their offices have failed to do that, according to Deputy Nguyen Thi Phuc from Binh Thuan province.

She said corruption used to be predominant in the economic sector alone, but now has spread to other areas such as health and education. Many corruption cases have not been detected in time.

Some deputies suggested forming an independent anti-corruption agency.

Deputy Tran Dinh Nha from Thua Thien Hue province said this agency would focus on investigating corruption cases and its members would have the right to make important decisions.

Deputy Nguyen Xuan Phuc from Quang Nam province said more drastic measures should be taken in investigating and prosecuting corruption cases.

He shared with other deputies that people who are willing to come forward about incidents of corruption should be encouraged and protected.

Regarding preventing crime, most deputies expressed concern about the fact that juvenile offences have been increasing in both quantity and seriousness level.

Deputy Ho Trong Ngu from Vinh Long province sad juvenile cases made up 18 percent of total arrests with nearly 18.000 young people brought in each year.

During the 2007-12 period, more than 40.000 criminal cases were investigated with the participation of 76,000 juveniles, although not all of them were brought into court.

Despite their youth, these criminals took part in serious cases such as murder, prostitution, drug smuggling, and violating laws in high technology and economic sectors, that caused major losses for people, he said.

Deputy Nguyen Thai Hoc from Phu Yen province agreed, saying juvenile using more complex technique to commit more sophisticated crimes.

A lack of morality education, unemployment and the availability of negative information on the Internet are the three main reasons for this spike in crime, according to the deputies.

The deputies also offered suggestions to put juvenile crime under control.

Among them, Deputy Ma Thi Thuy from Tuyen Quang province said schools, families and relevant authorities should work together to decrease juvenile crimes./.VNA