Vietnamese Death Penalty
A Vietnamese businesswoman named Truong My Lan has been sentenced to death in a high-profile fraud case. Lan, who is the chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) for a decade. The damages caused by the fraud case are estimated to be around $27 billion, making it one of the biggest corruption cases in Vietnam's history.
Vietnam uses the death penalty as punishment for 22 crimes, including murder, rape, and fraud. Embezzlement of as little as 500 million Vietnamese dong (approximately $20,000) of government funds qualifies for the death penalty. It is worth noting that Vietnam's death penalty is also used for white-collar crimes, according to human rights groups.
The death sentence handed to Truong My Lan is an unusually severe punishment for such a case. However, it is part of a broader crackdown on corruption by Vietnam's ruling Communist Party, which has led to the arrest of numerous officials and members of the country's business elite in recent years.
It is important to mention that the death penalty in Vietnam is classified as a state secret, and information about its practice is limited. Human rights groups have raised concerns about the violation of the right to freedom from the death penalty, particularly for certain vulnerable groups such as migrants, people with low social or economic status, refugees, and asylum seekers.
