Husband gets 6 years in prison for selling white pheasants: wife cries, sentence changed at 90 minutes?

In recent days, public opinion has been in controversy over the case of a man in Hung Yen who was sentenced to 6 years in prison for trading white pheasants. Not only did the man’s wife burst into tears while hugging her child, but people also expressed confusion over this unsatisfactory sentence.

The case of Mr. Thai Khac Thanh, who was sentenced to 6 years in prison for violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious, and rare animals, is attracting much public attention. Many lawyers posted on their personal Facebook accounts that they are willing to provide free defense for Mr. Thanh during the appeal and appeal process if the family requests it.

Lawyer Le Hong Hien (Le Hong Hien and Associates Law Firm) said that when he saw the image of a young wife hugging her two little daughters and crying in front of the court after her husband was sentenced to 6 years in prison, it made his heart and many others "feel like it was being squeezed".

Regarding the case of Mr. Thai Khac Thanh (residing in Do Luong commune, Nghe An province) who was recently sentenced to 6 years in prison and fined 30 million VND by the People's Court of Region 5, Hung Yen province, for raising and selling 13 pheasants (an animal species in the IB list of endangered, precious, and rare animals), collecting 6 million VND, Mr. Do Manh Tang, Chief Justice of the People's Court of Hung Yen province, said that he had directed the Court of Region 5 to report and explain, and urgently transfer the case file for comprehensive review.

According to Mr. Do Manh Tang, this case was brought to trial on the afternoon of August 8. The first instance trial panel carefully studied the law and determined that the defendant's actions were not unjust.

The Chief Justice of the People's Court of Hung Yen province added that the court has not yet received an appeal from Mr. Thai Khac Thanh. When the defendant appeals, the appellate court will consider it according to the correct procedural order.

"Immediately after receiving public feedback, the People's Court of Hung Yen province promptly directed the District 5 Court to conduct the first instance trial to report and explain, and transfer the case file to the Provincial People's Court for comprehensive consideration. If the defendant appeals, the appeal court will consider the entire case carefully, fully, reasonably and emotionally during the appeal trial," Mr. Tang affirmed.

According to Mr. Do Manh Tang, defendant Thai Khac Thanh committed a violation within the 5 to 10 year range, however, after the first instance trial, there were still many different opinions from the public, so the appellate court will consider it.

According to the case file, Mr. Thai Khac Thanh was prosecuted by the Procuracy for "violating regulations on the protection of endangered and rare animals" as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 244 of the Penal Code. The penalty for the crime Mr. Thanh was prosecuted for could be imprisonment from 5 to 10 years.

Mr. Thanh was not subject to any aggravating circumstances. The prosecution assessed that he confessed honestly and voluntarily paid the illegal profit of 2 million VND from selling pheasants. Mr. Thanh was also considered a mitigating circumstance because his parents were awarded resistance medals by the President.

Thanh's family shared that he got married at the age of 40. His father had passed away, his mother was old and sick, and his three daughters were still young. He worked as a wedding singer and raised livestock to support his family.

"I have a knack for raising and breeding animals. All of my animals are healthy and lay eggs well, so when I raised this batch of chickens, I sold them - this was also the first time I sold the chickens I had bred.

The family's situation became even more dire when his brother passed away early, and his brother-in-law - the other pillar of the family - had just had a serious work accident and is currently hospitalized in Hanoi.

On the afternoon of August 13, the leader of the People's Procuracy of Hung Yen province said that the defendant Thai Khac Thanh's preventive measure had just been changed from temporary detention to house arrest, pending appeal trial.

According to the People's Procuracy of Hung Yen province, the first-instance criminal judgment No. 35/2025/HS-ST dated August 8, 2025 of the People's Court of Region 5, Hung Yen province, determining that defendant Thai Khac Thanh committed the crime of "Violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious and rare animals" is inappropriate.

The above behavior of Thai Khac Thanh has signs of the crime of "Violating regulations on wildlife protection" stipulated in Article 234 of the Penal Code, however, it is necessary to re-investigate and determine the value of the pheasants seized from Thai Khac Thanh as a basis for resolving the case according to the provisions of law.

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