Police refused to return the results of the assessment.
On December 26, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga (53 years old, in Thang Binh, Quang Nam, character name changed) - the owner of the lottery ticket that won the special prize of 2 billion VND and was refused to pay the prize - said that the process of collecting documents and evidence to sue Thua Thien Hue Lottery Company Limited (abbreviated as Hue Lottery Company) is facing obstacles.
According to Ms. Nga, the Criminal Techniques Department of Thua Thien Hue Provincial Police has just sent a document refusing to return to her the results of the verification of the authenticity of the special prize winning lottery ticket with a torn part of the original.
The reason for refusing to provide the appraisal results is because Ms. Nga is not the subject requesting the appraisal (the subject is Hue Lottery Company); unless Ms. Nga has the written consent of Hue Lottery Company.
“I sent a request to the Thua Thien - Hue Provincial Police and the Thua Thien - Hue Provincial Lottery Company to request the appraisal results of this lottery ticket, but so far I have only received a response from the Police,” said Ms. Nga.
According to Ms. Nga, Hue Police's refusal to return the appraisal results was in accordance with regulations, because she was only the person who paid the money to the representative of Hue Lottery Company to directly bring the lottery ticket for appraisal, not the subject of the appraisal.
However, Ms. Nga was very upset because after receiving the appraisal results from the Police, Hue Lottery Company did not return the results to her and did not have a satisfactory explanation.
Previously, the People's Court of Huong Thuy Town (Thua Thien Hue Province) requested Ms. Nga to provide a copy of the appraisal results of the torn lottery ticket within 30 days from the date of receiving the notice. If the above deadline is exceeded, the court will return the lawsuit.
The court has the right to intervene to obtain the results of the assessment.
According to Ms. Nga, there are about 3 weeks left to supplement the remaining documents, as requested by the People's Court of Huong Thuy town.
“In case the appraisal results cannot be obtained, I will send a document to the Court, along with a response from the Police, so that the Court can intervene and request the relevant parties to provide the appraisal results,” said Ms. Nga.
Speaking with Lao Dong, Lawyer Nguyen Thanh Tan, Quang Nam Bar Association, said that the Court's responsibility to collect evidence is considered one of the basic principles in the 2015 Civil Procedure Code, specifically in Clause 2, Article 6, which stipulates: "The Court has the responsibility to assist the litigant in collecting evidence and only collects and verifies evidence in cases prescribed by this Code."
Accordingly, the Court will only assist the litigants in performing their burden of proof in cases where they are unable to do so themselves and in cases where the law provides. The Court is only responsible for assisting the litigants when they encounter difficulties in collecting evidence.
According to Lawyer Tan, in this case, it can be seen that the results of the lottery ticket appraisal are important evidence in resolving the case.
“Agencies, organizations and individuals managing and storing documents and evidence are responsible for providing complete documents and evidence as requested by the Court within 15 days from the date of receipt of the request.
"If an agency, organization or individual fails to comply with the Court's request without a valid reason, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, they may be subject to administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution," Lawyer Tan added.
