A majority of deputies at the National Assembly (NA) session Monday strongly opposed a bill to jettison capital punishment laws for rape, and drug transportation and storage.

Deputy Huynh Nghia said life imprisonment as the heaviest sentence for rape does not correspond with the severity of the crime.

Life in prison would not act as a strong enough deterrent, he said, adding that rape crimes had increased in recent years.

He said abolishing the death sentence for rape would cause social disorder and fail to protect young women.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa said: “I propose not to eliminate the death sentence for the crime. This is a very dangerous crime, seriously violating the victim’s honor, hurting their human dignity and health, and causing prolonged misery for them and their relatives.”

Retaining the penalty punishes the criminals, serves to educate the public, and acts as a deterrent, she said.

However, Chairwoman of the NA Judicial Committee Le Thi Thu Ba said the death penalty was unnecessary as life imprisonment was a sufficient punishment and deterrent.

She said, however, the death sentence should be maintained for raping children, or raping and murdering, or raping and robbing.

Vietnam was planning to reduce the number of death penalties in the Criminal Codes, she added.

The bill, which proposes amendments to several articles of the Criminal Codes is scheduled to be passed at the end of this session. It contains proposals to remove the death sentence in 8 out of 29 capital crimes, including rape, smuggling, swindling property, counterfeiting, vandalizing military weapons and equipment, organizing drug use, appropriating sea vessels and aircrafts, and offering bribes.

Drug crimes

The proposal to do away with the death penalty for illegally storing and transporting drugs came under heavy fire at the session Monday.

Deputy Huynh Nghia said the death sentence should be retained for all crimes of trading, storing, transporting and appropriating drugs.

He said the act of storing and transporting drugs was no less dangerous than trading drugs and the crimes were closely related.

Deputy Pham Van Ha said many cases of transporting and storing a large quantity of drugs are more dangerous and have greater consequences than drug dealing.

“So, it is necessary to retain the death penalty for illegally transporting and storing drugs to fight drug crimes,” he said.

Deputy Do Thi Lan suggested keeping the death penalty for drug crimes because it was a complex industry that disrupted the social order.

It is rare for drug traders to carry out every stage of their business. Those transporting and storing drugs are accomplices in the illegal trade, she said.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa suggested imposing death sentences for using illegal drugs which is on the rise and to blame for an increase in robberies and murders.

Reported by Bao Van