On December 3, the People's Court of Chau Duc district, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, sentenced Huynh Thanh Duong (born in 2004) to 42 months in prison (3 years and 6 months) for "robbery".
“Robbery” – according to the indictment, Duong used his left hand to press down on his grandmother’s hand, and his right hand reached into her pocket to take 70 thousand dong to play video games. The act of “robbery” occurred after Duong asked his grandmother (born in 1950) for money but she refused.
This verdict is causing a stir in public opinion with many conflicting opinions.
First of all, without discussing the right or wrong, severity of the judge's sentence, the price that Huynh Thanh Duong had to pay was 42 months in prison for robbing only 70 thousand dong from his own grandmother, which is too cruel.
The most painful thing about this story is that the victim - Duong's grandmother - decided to report to the police and Duong was then detained for investigation.
Duong's grandmother's decision to report to the police, in some ways, was a helpless cry for help in family education.
Notably, Duong was previously administratively punished twice for "Theft of property" in 2019; administratively punished by being sent to a reform school for 24 months in 2020.
This shows that the current educational environment still has many limitations and has not really created significant changes in the awareness and behavior of adolescents after the educational period.
Without truly effective vocational education programs that not only teach knowledge but also equip students with life skills and job opportunities, it will be difficult to help them reintegrate into society in a sustainable way.
Duong's story is also a warning about the negative impact of uncontrolled video games.
The behavior of Duong, a 20-year-old man, who robbed money to play video games, is a manifestation of a directionless, goalless lifestyle that is very common in society today.
This is also an issue that society needs to seriously consider, as more and more young people, from rural to urban areas, are caught up in the virtual world and forget about real opportunities for self-development.
A 20-year-old man had to stand trial and serve a 42-month prison sentence for robbing his own grandmother of 70,000 VND. This was a very expensive and painful lesson.
But this is also an opportunity for us to rethink the way we educate and train young people, especially those who are bad people, to help them make the right choices and not be constantly mired in the wrong paths!
