LAWYER NGUYEN QUOC CUONG
I. Outstanding cases that Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong and INlaw Vietnam have participated in.
1. Successfully defending Sen Vang Commercial Advertising Joint Stock Company - Miss Le Hoang Phuong in the brand promotion contract case with Nam An Plastic Surgery Hospital Joint Stock Company.
As legal counsel for Sen Vang, INlaw Vietnam, along with team of lawyers and legal experts, made every effort to successfully protect the legitimate rights and interests of clients
Sentencing the lawsuit related to Miss Le Hoang Phuong | Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper (plo.vn)
2. SCB - Van Thinh Phat case - Successfully defending the defendant, former Director of SCB Saigon Branch.
In the case of "Fraud to appropriate property, money laundering, illegal cross-border transportation of currency" that occurred at Van Thinh Phat Group, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong and the INlaw Vietnam legal team participated as defense counsel for the defendant, former Director of SCB Saigon Branch. At the first instance trial, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong and the team presented numerous circumstances and legal grounds for the Court to consider reducing the defendant's sentence compared to the level proposed by the Procuracy, successfully defending the client.
3. "Smuggling of petrol and oil" case - Successfully defending defendant Dao Ngoc Vien
In the major case of Dao Ngoc Vien, Phan Thanh Huu and accomplices for the crimes of "Smuggling" and "Accepting bribes" tried by the People's Court of Dong Nai Province on appeal, as defense counsel for defendant Dao Ngoc Vien, the INlaw Vietnam legal team successfully argued for a reduced sentence for the defendant.
https://daidoanket.vn/trum-buon-lau-xang-dau-dao-ngoc-vien-duoc-giam-an-10249148.html
4. Defending LENOM Vietnam Co., Ltd in the copyright dispute over Miss Global 2023 contest.
In the copyright dispute over organizing the Miss Global 2023 contest between MK Productions company represented by model Thuy Hanh and LENOM Company. As legal representatives and authorized representatives of LENOM Company, INlaw Vietnam along with its team of lawyers and legal experts acted on behalf of and successfully defended the legitimate rights and interests of the client.
5. Successfully defending Artist Duy Phuong in suing HTV Television and the production company of "Sau Anh Hao Quang" for broadcasting information related to Artist Duy Phuong's personal life and privacy.
After the broadcast of "Sau Anh Hao Quang" episode featuring Le Giang, the story about Le Giang and Duy Phuong's private life became the focus of public attention, causing Artist Duy Phuong's health and mental state to deteriorate. Artist Duy Phuong took decisive action by filing a lawsuit against HTV television station and Dong Tay Promotion company - the producer of "Sau Anh Hao Quang". As the legal representative of Artist Duy Phuong, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong and the INlaw Vietnam legal team participated in and successfully protected the legitimate rights and interests of Artist Duy Phuong.
6. Successfully defending OGAWA in suing District 7 Tax Department and Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department for the refund of VND 1.1 billion in taxes.
In the case of claiming tax refunds between Health Solutions Company Limited (OGAWA) and the administrative lawsuit against District 7 Tax Department and Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department.
As legal counsel for the company, INlaw Vietnam, along with its team of lawyers and legal experts, made every effort to successfully protect the legitimate rights and interests of the client, forcing District 7 Tax Department to refund the taxes paid by the company and interest.
7. Defending businesswoman Phan Thanh Bao Ngoc (KOLs Tue Nghi) in the lawsuit “Compensation for damages to honor, dignity, personal reputation and public apology”.
INLaw Vietnam's team of lawyers has made every effort to research, collect additional records, evidence, and documents of value to protect KOLs Tue Nghi.
On July 15, 2024, Ba Dinh District People's Court (Hanoi) will open a trial for the civil case filed by Ms. L.N.N.L. against Ms. Phan Thanh Bao Ngoc (KOLs Tue Nghi) requesting “Compensation for damages to honor, dignity, personal reputation and public apology”. However, before the trial, Plaintiff L.N.N.L. submitted a Request to withdraw the entire Petition and records, evidence, and documents.
https://congly.vn/toa-dinh-chi-vu-kien-doanh-nhan-tue-nghi-441102.html
II. Legal knowledge sharing from INlaw Vietnam staff
1. From the case of being 'bombed' with 1,003 synthetic drug pills: How to avoid being wrongly accused despite innocence?
According to lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association), typically when receiving goods for delivery, carriers usually determine in advance what type of package they will deliver, documents, weight, etc. to determine shipping fees, fragile items, shipping methods. They will take photos of the package before accepting it. In case of suspicion, the delivery person can ask the sender to open it for inspection, or refuse to transport if not allowed.
Lawyer Cuong notes that delivery personnel should contact the recipient before delivery to confirm if they are indeed expecting the package.
2. Former Prosecutor who groped a young girl in elevator must be charged with child molestation
According to the latest information, a video clip captured a man - believed to be a former prosecutor in Da Nang - groping and kissing a young girl in an elevator. So does this former prosecutor's behavior constitute the crime of child molestation against a person under 16 years old and are there any issues with the legal policies to handle this type of crime?
Regarding the above case, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong believes that according to Article 146 of the 2015 Penal Code on Child Molestation: "Any person aged 18 or over who commits obscene acts against a person under 16 for purposes other than sexual intercourse or other sexual activities shall face a penalty of 6 months to 3 years in prison".
The elements of this crime do not require mandatory impact on the child's genitals. Rather, child molestation is the act of an adult using any obscene methods against a person under 16 years old to satisfy their own sexual desires.
According to Lawyer Cuong, to assess whether it is molestation or not must be based on the obscene nature of the act, meaning the act must contain the consciousness of sexual gratification but not for intercourse. Therefore, any other act impacting the victim to satisfy sexual pleasure is considered molestation. That means just touching the victim's body, touching other parts like thighs, chest, buttocks, etc. to satisfy physiological needs, due to sexual demands, also constitutes this crime. Thus, the man's kissing and groping of the child in the clip is sufficient to constitute the crime of Child Molestation against a person under 16 years old.
3. Can flight attendants who violate quarantine regulations be subject to criminal prosecution?
Recently, many legal experts have commented on the case of violating quarantine regulations causing COVID-19 to spread in the community and said that "Flight attendants who violate quarantine regulations may be subject to criminal prosecution"
Regarding the above case, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) has some opinions as follows:
According to Official Letter No. 3588 dated July 2, 2020 of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, flight crew members are quarantined at centralized facilities for 72 hours and if they have 2 negative test results, they will be allowed to return home to continue isolation and monitoring. Therefore, the fact that patient 1342 (flight attendant) was allowed to return home after 4 days of centralized quarantine and 2 negative test results is in accordance with regulations.
However, during the centralized quarantine period at Vietnam Airlines' quarantine area, this person had contact with a flight attendant from another flight who was patient 1325. This could be a loophole in the centralized quarantine process.
According to the provisions of Official Letter No. 3588, after centralized quarantine, patient 1342 must continue to quarantine at their residence for up to 14 days. However, this person did not comply with the regulations on home medical quarantine, had close contact with 3 other people, causing the disease to spread.
The behavior of patient 1342 can be considered as a case of "other acts causing the spread of dangerous infectious diseases to humans" as stipulated in point c, clause 1, Article 240 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017), guided by Official Letter No. 45 of the Supreme People's Court.
4. Questions about transparency in Thuy Tien's charity work
After many days of social media outburst about non-transparent and unclear charity fundraising, on September 17, Thuy Tien and Cong Vinh live-streamed to publicly disclose 18,000 pages of bank statements from the account she used to call for donations to support the Central region in 2020. However, lawyers say that the female singer's bank statements or posting confirmation documents from local authorities are not enough to prove transparency.
Regarding this matter, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong commented as follows:
The female singer only provided bank statements after much controversy, showing her lack of initiative, openness and transparency. Providing bank statements at this point is late and not very meaningful in proving that charity funds were used for the right purposes and recipients. Additionally, in Thuy Tien's withdrawal transactions, most were large cash withdrawals. She then distributed the money to people. However, in both of these stages, there was no third-party agency or unit supervising.
5. Account statements are mandatory, but not enough for transparency
The fact that artists call for charity donations and the demand for transparency from audiences has attracted public attention recently. When unable to be transparent about charity funds, artists easily face backlash from the public.
Regarding this matter, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong commented as follows:
Those who call for donations should set up separate accounts for charitable purposes. This makes bank statements and auditing easier. Meanwhile, fundraising into personal accounts causes confusion between private and public money, making it difficult to prove transparency.
In addition, the State should stipulate that for large fundraising amounts of tens or hundreds of billions of dong, there should be an independent organization to monitor and inspect. This will facilitate cross-checking, auditing, timely and accurate reporting of fundraising, receiving and distributing charitable assets.
Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong also recognizes that the basic principles that must be followed in voluntary activities are voluntariness, openness, transparency, proper use for intended purposes and subjects in need of support, non-profit operations, financial reporting regime and independent supervision. Acts of coercion, false reporting, misappropriation, receiving and distributing money for wrong purposes or subjects and profiteering are all strictly prohibited and may be subject to legal action.
6. "Is unauthorized use of Vietnamese celebrity images illegal?"
Recently, People's Artist Hoang Dung was upset when his image and name were exploited to advertise snoring treatment pills. Not only the "Nguoi phan xu" actor, a series of hot names in Vietnamese showbiz have also fallen into similar situations, with their images being exploited for indiscriminate advertising.
Regarding the issue of unauthorized use of Vietnamese celebrity images, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong had some opinions as follows:
Individuals, not just celebrities but ordinary citizens, all have rights to their own images and are protected by law.
According to Article 32 of the 2015 Civil Code, the use of an individual's image must be consented to by that person. Using another person's image for commercial purposes must be compensated for the person whose image is used, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
If the use of images violates the provisions of this Article, the person whose image is used has the right to request the Court to issue a decision forcing the violator, related agencies, organizations, or individuals to recall, destroy, terminate the use of the image, compensate for damages and apply other handling measures as prescribed by law.
Thus, using a celebrity's image for advertising without their consent is a violation of the law. Those whose images are exploited can all sue for compensation. The compensation amount depends on each case, if the level of damage caused by this unauthorized use of image can be proven".
7. Illegal lending through apps: Need an 'iron fist' in management
Currently, there are many reports of the rampant situation of lending apps along with terrorist-style debt collection methods of app employees. According to research, this lending activity seems to be being ignored by authorities and no agency has been able to accurately count the number of lending apps present in Vietnam.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has the following opinions:
8. Legal Talkshow: Personal data and what you need to know
On April 17, 2023, the Government issued Decree No. 13 on personal data protection (Decree No. 13/2023). The decree takes effect from July 1, 2023. This is a decree marking an important milestone as the first comprehensive legal document officially using the concept of personal data, regulating obligations to protect personal data for entities that collect and process personal data.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
9. Legal Talkshow: 2023 shareholder meeting season, Many shareholders disappointed about dividend distribution
Nowadays, a series of large enterprises record profits of thousands of billions of dong but do not distribute dividends to shareholders for many years, which has made them very frustrated.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
10. Crimes in the securities field from legal and practical perspectives
The stock market is a potential market with rapid and strong development. However, besides the positive results achieved, the stock market still has many potential risks of law violations, affecting market operations and going against the common interests of the country.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
11. Seminar: "Lawyers' protection activities for victims in criminal cases" - Judicial Academy
The Judicial Academy organizes a seminar to assess the current situation and inadequacies in lawyers' protection activities for victims in criminal cases. From there, propose solutions and recommendations to help overcome practical difficulties in legal practice.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
12. WEEKLY STORY (Issue 42): Enough tricks to scam money in accounts
Taking advantage of the time near Lunar New Year 2021, fraudulent activities to appropriate property by technology are even more bustling. In particular, the subjects apply many sophisticated tricks to steal information, steal money in customer accounts opened at banks, financial companies.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
13. Swearing - can it be sued?
Cursing and swearing occur quite commonly, becoming catchphrases for some people. From a legal and social life perspective, how is this behavior viewed?
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
14. Sexual harassment: can result in job loss
Sexual harassment at the workplace, taking 5 days off without reason can result in job loss... these are new points according to the new Labor Code (effective from 01/01/2021).
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
15. WEEKLY STORY (Issue 52): Unity will soon push back the pandemic
The Covid-19 pandemic has returned to Vietnam with the 4th wave signaling many difficulties and complexities while neighboring countries are struggling to cope.
To unite and soon push back the pandemic, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has some legal opinions as follows:
16. Chinese people hiding in cardboard boxes: How to handle?
Dong Nai Province Police inspected a passenger vehicle running North-South and discovered four Chinese people hiding in cardboard boxes. The police force requested the driver to unload goods for inspection, then discovered four Chinese people hiding in a cardboard box. For the above incident, what form of handling should be imposed?
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
17. Many different opinions at the talk show on compensation for wrongful convictions
On June 13, 2024, Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper organized a talk show: "Compensation for wrongful convictions: Inadequacies and solutions" chaired by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Tam (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper).
Accordingly, the practice of implementing the 2017 State Compensation Liability Law in criminal proceedings shows that there are some obstacles between functional agencies affecting the process of settling compensation for victims.
The first obstacle is how to determine the agency responsible for compensation settlement. The second is the amount of compensation for mental damage to the relatives of the victim.
Therefore, the talk show aims to clarify the causes, difficulties, obstacles and propose solutions to soon have uniformity in implementing the State Compensation Liability Law.
Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong - INlaw Vietnam Legal Team was very honored to participate in the talk show and made positive contributions.
18. Boss sends employees to quarantine instead: Signs of breaking the law
On March 9, Mr. Hoang Nam, Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee, said that the locality is conducting quarantine, sending test samples of five people who went for inspection. 4/5 of these people were on the same flight with Vietnam's 30th COVID-19 case.
Regarding the information that among these five quarantined people, one person had previously swapped someone else to quarantine instead of himself, Mr. Nam confirmed and said: "Currently all five people are quarantined, for now we focus on measures to prevent and control the epidemic for these people"
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
19. Further discussion on conditions for recruiting court clerks
In the previous issue, Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper reflected on the Supreme People's Court recruiting court clerks with one of the conditions related to professional skills that only students at the Court Academy under the Supreme People's Court are trained in
That is the standard of "having been trained in court clerk skills or court skills, majoring in adjudication or adjudication skills".
This is tantamount to law graduates from other training institutions being blocked from entering the court sector.
On April 27, 2021, Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper in this issue continues to record opinions of leaders of law training institutions as well as law students.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong shared the following:
20. Case of fake antique ceramic pedestals: Cultural artifacts or consumer goods?
On March 19, 2022, Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper reported that recently, the Superior People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City held an appellate trial annulling the administrative judgment and returning it to the first instance level to resolve again the case of Mr. Pham Hoang Viet suing the Chief of the Express Customs Sub-Department, Ho Chi Minh City Customs Department regarding a pair of ceramic pedestals purchased at auction from France.
One of the reasons the appellate trial panel annulled the judgment was because the case file had two conflicting assessment conclusions on the exhibits and antiques.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
21. 'Hoai Linh has not shown signs of violating the law but has lost trust'
On the evening of May 24, in a video sent to Zing, Hoai Linh spoke up and explained about the more than 13 billion VND that had been raised to support people in the Central region after recent public controversy. He said that from November 2020 until now, the total amount of 13.77 billion VND is still in his account. The famous comedian affirmed that he will go to the Central region to hand over the money to the people in the coming time.
Hoai Linh's explanatory video has not convinced the public. Many questions about the legal aspect have been raised.
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
22. Lawyer analyzes 4 suspicions about model Kim Phuong's accusations
The case of model Kim Phuong accusing a famous painter of rape has shocked and attracted much public attention. The case is now more complicated as painter Ngo Luc has spoken up to completely deny the rape and said he will counter-sue because the female model made false accusations.
In response to the commotion of model Kim Phuong accusing the painter of rape, on May 26, 2018, in an exchange with Tri Thuc va Cuoc Song newspaper, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong made assessments of the case, while pointing out suspicious points in model Kim Phuong's accusations and has some legal opinions as follows:
23. Amending guidelines to avoid seeing molestation everywhere
The draft resolution of the Supreme People's Court's Judges' Council guiding the application of sexual assault crimes has described quite detailed and specific acts of molestation. This makes it easier for procedure-conducting agencies to scrutinize the behaviors of suspects/accused/defendants when investigating, prosecuting and adjudicating.
Besides that advantage, the draft also reveals many shortcomings that if not corrected, when issued will cause difficulties for procedural agencies, even causing many people to "see acts of molestation everywhere"
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong shares the following:
24. How will instigating children to steal money be handled?
The story of an old woman selling water at the entrance of alley 420 Le Van Sy Street being robbed of a money bag and scratch cards by a child is causing a stir in public opinion. The clip shows that when stealing, the child constantly looked towards the woman to "ask for opinions".
After the child took the money bag, the woman carrying the child drove away. In this case, how can the child and this woman be handled?
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
25. The case of bringing the vehicle to the ward for bargaining: There are signs of crime
On the afternoon of December 20, 2019, in an exchange with Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper about the case of civil defense and police of Ward 17, Binh Thanh District being accused of extorting money from student CHD, Lieutenant General Le Dong Phong, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police, informed: "I have directed to do it quickly, urgently, in accordance with legal regulations and must handle this case very strictly"
Regarding the above case, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) has some opinions as follows:
The Criminal Code stipulates: Anyone who threatens to use force or has other tricks to intimidate others in order to appropriate property shall be sentenced to imprisonment from one to five years.
The act of threatening to use force is an act expressing attitudes, gestures, words that make the threatened person feel afraid and believe that the offender will use violence, so the threatened person must hand over the property.
The act of using other tricks to intimidate others is understood as using tricks to put pressure on the victim's spirit, threatening to do something that causes damage to property, honor, reputation of the intimidated person, forcing them to hand over property to the offender for appropriation.
Common tricks used are taking advantage of the victim's mistakes, shortcomings to threaten...
According to press reports, after bringing student D. to the ward, someone hit D.'s face, used a knife to poke his arm, threatened to imprison him for possessing weapons... then asked him to write a vehicle sale contract.
This is a series of acts aimed at threatening, intimidating student D. to appropriate property, so there are signs of committing the crime of extortion as analyzed above.
26. Necessity to criminally prosecute driver who concealed 5 Chinese people
Regarding the case of passenger car 98B-027.63 carrying five Chinese people illegally entering the country, on May 18, Xuan Loc District Police said the case is being clarified by Dong Nai province authorities, taking statements from the driver and related people. Currently, all people on this passenger car have been sent to centralized quarantine according to COVID-19 prevention requirements. What did the driver violate?
Regarding this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
27. Solving the 5-Year-Old Girl Murder Case within 24 Hours
Around 11 PM on April 17, the provincial police received a report of a murder that occurred at a vacant lot in Ward 3, Ba Ria City. The victim was PNQN (5 years old), who showed signs of sexual abuse... Little N. was found by the family more than 10 PM on April 17, about 100 m from their house.
Based on the crime scene investigation and autopsy, it was determined that N. was strangled to death and her genitals were violated. The incident has caused outrage in public opinion.
Regarding this case, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
28. Ba Ria-Vung Tau: Many Children Under 16 Sexually Abused in Chau Duc District
Recently, cases of child sexual abuse in Chau Duc district, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province have shown an increasing trend. Particularly, the situation of underage pregnancy is on the rise.
Discussing this issue, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has the following legal opinions:
Article 142 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017) stipulates that anyone who uses force, threatens to use force, or takes advantage of the victim's inability to self-defense or other tricks to have intercourse or engage in other sexual acts with a person from full 13 years old to under 16 years old against their will, or have intercourse or engage in other sexual acts with a person under 13 years old, will commit the crime of rape of a person under 16 years old. The penalty ranges from 7 to 15 years in prison.
At a more severe level, the offender will be sentenced to 12 to 20 years in prison if the crime falls under one of the following cases: causing the victim to become pregnant; causing injury, health damage or mental and behavioral disorder to the victim with a disability rate of 31% to 60%; committing the crime 2 or more times... And the highest penalty for this crime is life imprisonment or death sentence.
Article 145 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017) on the crime of intercourse or engage in other sexual acts with a person from full 13 years old to under 16 years old stipulates that "Anyone full 18 years old or older who has intercourse or engages in other sexual acts with a person from full 13 years old to under 16 years old, if not falling under the cases stipulated in Articles 142 and 144 of this Code, shall be sentenced to 1 to 5 years in prison".
If the crime causes the victim to become pregnant, against a person the offender is responsible for caring, educating, treating..., the penalty will be 3 to 10 years in prison. If it causes injury or health damage to the victim with a disability rate of 61% or more, or the offender knows they are infected with HIV but still commits the crime, the highest penalty in Clause 3 will be 7 to 15 years in prison.
For both crimes above, the offender may also be prohibited from holding certain positions or practicing certain occupations for 1 to 5 years.
29. Case of a Goldsmith Owner Selling Assets Cheaply to His Son
Mr. Nguyen Van Quoi (Tac Van commune, Ca Mau city) and his wife used to own Dat Vinh gold shop in the locality. He had a ferry worth billions of VND, a townhouse right next to the market and many land properties. Quoi's prosperous status made local people trust him and lend him money, participate in hui (a form of rotating credit association).
According to the documents and records, in early 2018, 24 people went to the People's Committee of Tac Van commune to submit a petition, putting pressure to have the commune intervene and force Quoi to repay the debt.
The People's Committee of Ca Mau city and the Department of Transport of Ca Mau province also took many intervention measures when Quoi's creditors demanded to prevent the risk of his assets being dispersed.
Do the creditors need to request the court to intervene immediately?
Regarding this case, Lawyer Nguyen Quoc Cuong has a number of legal opinions as follows:
