Could confessing for leniency give a crime boss a lighter sentence than an accomplice?

A proposed Vietnamese criminal-procedure rule promising leniency for voluntary confessions has raised a pointed question: could the person who led a crime end up with a lighter sentence than an accomplice who refused to confess?

The proposal would allow expedited procedures when a suspect or defendant voluntarily admits guilt and accepts punishment in exchange for leniency. The Supreme People’s Procuracy discussed the draft amended Criminal Procedure Code at a consultation conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 7.

National Assembly delegate Nguyễn Thanh Sang, deputy head of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s Internal Affairs Commission, said the approach could reduce the time and workload required to resolve cases. But he warned that a confession made simply to obtain leniency must be examined carefully. “This must be genuine. If someone confesses to benefit from a leniency policy, that needs to be reconsidered,” he said.

Sang also questioned whether expedited procedures should apply to every type of offense and begin at the investigation stage. He said the draft must clarify how to handle a case in which one person confesses while another does not. Otherwise, he argued, a suspect could confess during the investigation and gain a reduction that effectively outweighs other mitigating circumstances, creating the possibility that a crime leader receives a lighter sentence than a non-confessing accomplice.

Le Hoàng Dương of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Procuracy said the draft should define the value and scope of leniency more clearly, so the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code operate consistently. He proposed requiring a prosecutor to be directly present when officials record a voluntary confession, describing that safeguard as a way to ensure the rule is applied properly.

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This must be genuine. If someone confesses to benefit from a leniency policy, that needs to be reconsidered.