>>Position-related crimes in French-ruled Vietnam's criminal law
>>Military offices in criminal laws of French-ruled Vietnam
Pham Diem
State and Law Research Institute
Falsities were specified mainly in Chapter XVII - “Gia doi” (Falsities)- of Hoang Viet Hinh Luat (Vietnamese Emperor’s Criminal Law), the typical penal code of the ancient Vietnam during the French colonialists’ domination.
Falsities were described by Hoang Viet Hinh Luat in detail and diversity and classified according to their subjects into three types:
- Falsities committed by public servants.
- Falsities committed by commoners.
- Falsities committed possibly by public servants or commoners.
According to their objects, falsities were also classified into three types:
- Falsities in official duties (public affairs).
- Falsities in civil transactions (personal affairs).
- Falsities in other domains.
I. Falsities in official duties (public affairs):
Feudal law-makers attached special importance to the falsities committed by public servants as, to them, such crimes often cause immeasurable economic, social and political harms.
According to Article 170 of the said feudal penal code, any public servants on official duties who falsify official dispatches, books or papers related to public affairs, or forge signatures, dossiers…would be charged with falsities. If such an offense causes a loss of over 2,000 dong (ancient Indochinese currency) or unjustly put another person to a grave crime, the falsifier would be sentenced to hard labor for life; if the loss is amounted to between 1,200 and 2,000 dong or another person was unjustly charged with a petty crime due to such falsity, the sinner would be sentenced to hard labor for between 5 and 20 years; if the falsity results in a material loss of under 1,200 dong or the unfair charge of nuisance for another person, the offender would be jailed for between one and five years; where the loss value cannot be calculated, the offender would be imprisoned for between one and five years. Those public servants would be subject to hard labor for life if they forge the kings’ orders, hard labor for between 10 and 20 years if they forge documents of ministries, or hard labor for between 5 and 10 years if they forge the official dispatches of local mandarins.
Moreover, Article 171 stipulated that any public servants who knew the papers were forged but still used them would be punished like the forgers of such papers.
These provisions were added by Article 172 that any public servants who asked other persons to forge papers would be regarded as having committed such offense.
Under the said feudal penal code, those who pretend to be public servants would be also severely punished. According to Article 256, those who are not public servants but employ tricks to make other persons believe that they are persons with high positions and powers, or those who wear mandarins’ attire, military uniform, wear badges or medals not of their own would be penalized with imprisonment for between one month and two years; if such wrongdoing aims to lure money from other people, the sinners would be subject to a fine doubling the amounts they have appropriated.
The crimes of counterfeiting money, stamps and seals were also specified here and there in Hoang Viet Hinh Luat.
Article 251 stated: Those who make or issue counterfeit banknotes and/or coins would be sentenced to life servitude; those who counterfeit treasury bills and/or bonds would be sentenced to hard labor for between 5 and 20 years; those who counterfeit mandarins’ seals would be sentenced to hard labor for between 5 and 20 years.
According to Article 252, those who counterfeit postages and/or other stamps would all be put to jail for between two and five years.
According to Article 253, those who stealthily use mandarins’ seals to stamp papers would all be charged with the forgery of papers.
The penalties meted out to forgers of personal papers were prescribed in Articles 254 and 255.
According to Article 254, those who forge or modify laissez-passers, gun-using permits, identity cards, tax payment receipts, stay permits would be jailed for between three months and three years.
Article 255 added that those who use false names in laissez-passers, gun-using permits, identity cards, stay permits would be imprisoned for between three months and one year.
Particularly, the code also devoted a number of articles to defining falsities in examinations and election.
According to Article 404, those who commit one of the following acts would be subject to a prison term of between one month and three years or a fine of between 10 and 360 dong:
- Giving examination questions to candidates or other persons before the examinations commence.
- Asking other persons to sit for one’s examinations or taking examinations for other persons;
- Using forged papers such as fake birth certificates, diplomas and/or certificates to sit for examinations.
Article 405 stipulated that any candidates who bring already-prepared exercises into examination rooms would be jailed for between one and four months or fined with 10 to 40 dong.
According to Article 406, village headman or canton chief candidates who use money to buy votes would be subject to a prison term of between two months and one year or a fine of between 20 and 120 dong and the vote-buying money would be confiscated for public fund; their fellow-offenders and accomplices would be jailed for between one and three months or fined with between 10 and 30 dong.
Meanwhile, Article 407 stated: Those who help illiterate voters to write their ballot but write the names of persons other than the candidates chosen by such voters would be subject to a prison term of between one and six months or a fine of between 10 and 60 dong.
II. Falsities in civil transactions
First of all, they are falsities in deeds or contracts.
According to Article 248, those who commit one of the following acts in civil or commercial transactions would be considered as having committed forgery of deeds or contracts:
- Falsifying or modifying signatures or personal identities (such as finger prints) in deeds or contracts.
- Forging or amending money-borrowing contracts or other deeds in order to change or evade one’s debt-repayment obligation.
For these cases, the principals would be jailed for between one and five years while their fellow-offenders and accomplices would have such penalties cut by half.
Article 249 added: Those who know but still use phoney contracts would be penalized like the principals while, according to Article 250, those who incite other persons to forge contracts or deeds would be penalized like the offenders.
According to Article 362, those who use false names pseudo-names, false name cards or employ tricks to make other people give them money, property, bonds, deeds or contracts, receipts, covenants,…would be put to jail for between two months and five years or under surveillance. Meanwhile their fellow-offenders and accomplices would enjoy commutation by half.
Article 363 stipulated: Those who use amulets or black magic to make other people believe that they are endowed with magical powers in order to get property or money valued at over two dong would be put to jail for between one and five years and possibly to surveillance; their fellow-offenders and accomplices would be penalized the same.
Under Article 365, those who have already sold or mortgaged their properties, both moveables and immoveables, thus losing their ownership right thereto, but illegally sell or mortgage them again, would be subject to a prison term of between two months and two years, for the principals, or half of such duration for the fellow-offenders and accomplices; if the crime is left unfinished, the offenders would be exempt from any penalty.
Besides, the code also specified the crime of selling goods dishonestly through wrong measurement, scaling and/or counting.
According to Article 402, those who sell fake gold, silver, pearls in their transactions would be jailed for between three months and one year or fined with 30 to 120 dong, regardless of whether they are principals, fellow-offenders or accomplices. Those who deceitfully scale or measure goods in order to seek illicit profits from the sale thereof to customers would be charged with the same crime and subject to the same penalties mentioned above.
Meanwhile, Article 403 stipulated: Those who put on sale spoiled or stale meat, vegetables or other kinds of food, or sell fake foods, drinks, medicines, would be jailed for between one month and one year or fined with between 10 and 120 dong. The sellers would be imprisoned for six years if such foods or drinks result in any human death, or for between three months and two years if the eaters of such foods get sick.
In addition to the falsities in the two fundamental domains of the social life - the public affairs and the civil transactions (personal affairs), Hoang Viet Hinh Luat also devoted space to describing other acts of deception. For instance, Article 148 stipulated: Those who spread false information, causing disturbance among the public or disrupting public order would be jailed for between six and ten months or fined with between 60 and 100 dong; or those who employ black magic, causing public disturbance or disorder would be penalized the same.-