IGCSE2

GlobalPerspective
ResearchPaper
LawandCriminality
SingaporeInternationalSchool@
Danang
VN227
LiuWen

0005

Introduction
Thesedays,Vietnamisdealingwithavarietyofcrimes.Murderisconsideredasaseriouscrime.
Murderisanextremecrimeandmassmurderseemstobeacurrenttrend(TranDaiQuang,2012).Murder
is a homicide crime defined as the intentional killing of one human being by another with malice
aforethought(TheLegalEnvironmentoftheCoronersWork,2000).Afirstdegreemurderisplannedin
advanceanddoneinacold,calculatedmanner.Therefore,itwarrantsthelongestsentence,quiteoftenlife
withoutparole.Seconddegreemurderisnotpremeditated,andisoftenreferredtoasacrimeofpassionor
onethathappensintheheatofamoment.Sincethiscrimeshowsnomaliceofforethought,itgenerally
receivesalesserpenalty.Thirddegreemurderisaccidental.Thecriminaldoeshaveanintentionofharming
theirvictim,butnotkillingthemandthatfactiskeptinmindduringthesentencing. Thisstateofmind
depends upon thejurisdiction, distinguishing murder from other forms of unlawfulhomicide, such as
manslaughter.Itswrongtotakeawaysomebodyslife.Themurderernotonlychangesthelifeofthe
victims,butalsotheirfriendsandfamily. Humanpsychologicalandphysicalwellbeingisdamagedand
destroyedwhenpeoplearedeliberatelykilledbyotherpeople.From2012to2014,murderhasincreased
rapidly.Withsuchanalarmingrateofthiscrime,societyisseriouslyinfluencedandthathurtsVietnamese
citizensterribly.

GlobalPerspective
Ingeneral,therateofmurderhasbeenrising.ThenumberofpeoplewhowerekilledinVietnamin2005
was1.7perevery100,000peopleandin2006itwas1.9peopleperevery100,000people.Thisshowsthat
Vietnamishomicideratehasincreased.Surprisingly,itisstillmuchsmallerthaninHonduras,whichhas
90.4perevery100,000people,orinVenezuela,whichhas,82per100,000people.Bothofthemarethe
countrieshavethehighestmurderrateintheworld.Oneofthereasonsisbecausegunsarelegaltousein
bothcountries.Alsotoconsideristhat,HondurasandVenezuelaaretouristdestinationsandtouristsare
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targeted.Addtothat,inVenezuela,manypolicearekilledbecausemanypeoplewanttostealtheirweapons
(GunFreeZone,2013).However,VietnamsmurderrateisstillhigherthanHongKongwhichhasarateof
.2peopleperevery100,000peopleandinIceland,whichhasarateof.3peopleperevery100,000people
gotkilled.Thereasonwhytheyarethelowestcountrieswithmurderratesisbecausegunsareillegalin
HongKongandIceland.Itmeansthatcountrieswithlegalgunshavehighermurderratesthantheones
whereitisillegal.

NationalPerspective
Intermsofanationalperspective,thecurrenttrendofmurderinVietnamseemstobemoreseriousasthe
murdererskillalotofpeopleatthesametime.AccordingtothecriminalinvestigationpoliceontheSocial
SecurityBureau(2013),themurdersbysocialcausesaccountforover90%ofthesemurdersthatoccur,the
natureandextentareincreasinglyserious.Degradationofculturalbehaviorbetweenpeopletogetherisone
ofthereasonsleadingtotheincidentofmassmurder(VTCNews,2015).Apersonalaccountofamass
murderinVietnamduetosocialcausesisthecaseofViVanMan(20yearsold,NgheAn)becausehe
killed 4 people at the same time. On July 2 nd, Lo Van Tho came to Mans garden to pick lemons.
Unfortunately,hestompedonThosplotofland.Therefore,aconflictarosebetweentwofamilies.Anddue
tohisanger,MantookaknifeandkilledTho.Beingfrightenedofthisfuss,Thoswiferanaway.However,
ManchasedherandsawThosmothersohekilledher.Then,hemurderedThoswifeandhisson.

Throughallthemassmurderthathashappenedfrom2005to2006,justasmallconflictcancausepeopleto
killeachother.Thosewhohavewitnessedviolenceinthefamilysincechildhood,cancausepeopletokill
eachother.Whenpeoplegrowupinviolenthomesitcanleadtodeviantbehavior.Mostcaseswherethe
murdererisafather,brothersareaffectedbydomesticviolenceorunhealthylifestyles(Dr.NguyenMinh
Duc,2012).Upto46%ofthemurdererscomefromthefamilycomplexwithproblemsasmostofthese
familieshaveafather,motherorbrother,sister,childrenwhohaveacriminalrecord.Whateverthereasons
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ofamurder,thecriminalswillinnocentlycreatebadinfluencesontheirrelativesbecausetheywillfollow
thepredecessorsfootsteps.

Besides,sanctionsforviolentbehavioraretoolight,especiallyforacts againstpeopleonduty.These
consequencesaresomethingalarmingaboutthecultureinVietnam.ColonelHaThiHongLanexplains
whythisbehaviorhappens:
Culturalbehaviorwasthedirectcauseleadingtothisheartbreakingmassacre.Thechildren
cannotbeeducated,wellmanagedfromthefamily.Havefondofmateriallifebutlazy,from
thatarosetheintentionofmurder.
(Lan,2014)
Itisclearthatpooreducationandtheenvironmentinwhichthechildhasbeenraisedinfluenceachilds
behavior.Thehabitsthechildhasdevelopedbeinglazy,addictedtogamesoramateriallifealso
contributestothechildsactions.

AnotherprobleminVietnamisyoungteenagershavealackofunderstandingofthelaw.Inmostschools
anduniversities,unlessstudentsinlawuniversity,studythoroughlyaboutlaw.Itmayhavesomeextra
periodsforstudentsandteachersdiscussonsomecommonlawssuchastrafficlaws,environmentlawsand
somethinglikethat,butitnotenoughwhenitcomestomurderlaw.Parentsandteachersdonotappreciate
howitisimportanttoconveythoselawstotheirchildren,sincetheyallthinkthattheirchildrennever
commitanyevils. Theseideasdirectlyaffectthedevelopmentofthehumanpersonality.Alowlevelof
educationhasasignificantimpactonbehavior,tothesettlementoftheconflictsoccurringineverydaylife.
(HVCSND,2012).

PersonalPerspective
Apersonalaccountofhowmurderaffectspeopleisinthestorythatfollowsso.OnNov13 th,thePolice
DepartmentcriminalinvestigationofthesocialorderofHCMCityarrestedDoThanhTubecausethe
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criminal had burned the victim to death and destroyed the evidence completely. OnNov 10 th, Tu the
criminalhadadatewithhisgirlfriendnamedBich.WhenTudroveherhome,Bichwantedtobreakupbut
TudeclinedandinhisangerhetookarodironandhitBichshead,shediedimmediately.ThenTubought
acartonbox.HeputBichinandthenlititonfire.Bichsmothersaid,WewaitedforBichtocomehome
thatnightuntil00:00,sheneverwentoutthislatebefore,sowereportedittothepoliceandatthesame
timewereceivedinformationofagirlwhowasburned.Theycomparedthedeadbodytotheirtestimony
anditturnsoutitwasherdaughter,noonecouldhavethoughtakindandgenerousmanlikeTucould
wickedlytakethisaction.Thismeanitstooeasyforpeopletokilleachother,theykilleachotherbecause
ofloveorhate.Thisisapersonalexampleofhowmurderaffectspeople.

FutureScenarios
Accordingtothe HomicideStatistics,CriminalJusticeandPublicHealthSource:1.7perevery100,000
peoplewerekilledinVietnam2005andthisnumberseemstorisecontinually.Ifmurderkeepsincreasing
forthenextfewyears,itwillraisesomeconcerningproblems.First,thejailswillbefull,sotherewillbeno
moreplacesforprisoners.Thismakesthegovernmentspendagreatdealofmoneyonbuildingnewjailsto
keepprisoners.Alsohiringpoliceorevencreatinganarmyfordealingwiththesecrimeswillbeexpensive.
Thecostforjailthereforewillincrease.Hence,murderimposessubstantialcoststobothindividualsandthe
governmentsinceitistooexpensiveforthegovernmenttobuildprisons(BuiDanhLien,2015).

Second,murderratesmightleadtotourismgoingdownbecausepeoplefeelinsecureinsuchaplacewhere
manypeoplearekilledandtheydonothaveanidealenvironmenttoenjoythesightseeing.Nowadays,the
tourism industry is of great importance to society so if it goes down, it will negatively affect on the
economy.Although Guatemala, a country in the Caribbean, is famous for many attractive tourist
destinations,thisplaceisalwaysthreatenedwithhighmurderratesandothercommoncrimeslikestreet
robberyforcethatvisitorsshouldconsiderbeforechoosingthejourneytoGuatemalabecausenoonewants
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tobekilledontheirholiday.SoisSanPedroSula,Honduras.AccordingtoWorldBank(2014),Hondarus
hasthehighesthomiciderateintheworld90.4per100,000people.Thisisadestinationlocatedinthe
highestpositioninshouldnotvisitdestinationlist(baogiaothong,2015).Therefore,itcanbeinferred
thatduetomurder,thesecountriescanloseagreatnumberofprofitreceivedbytourism.Whatismore,the
imagesofthosecountriescancausebadreputationsfortouristsifthesituationisnotimproved.

Ifthemurderrategoesup,thegroupwhichwillbemostaffectedbythisinthefutureisthevictims.They
mightfinishtheirlifepitifullywhenmurderstakeplace.Theynotonlygetphysicalpainbutalsoobsessall
theirremaininglifeiftheysurvive.Incasethevictimsdie,themostvulnerablegroupisthesurvivors.For
manysurvivors,thestrongestpointoffocusfortheirfeelingsisovertheloss,andwiththisnormalfocal
pointofnearlyallgrieving,thenormalmixofgrievingemotions,includingaguiltinducingsenseofanger
atthepersonwhodied,ispresent.Forthosewhocannotimaginealifewithoutthatlovedone,ideasof
suicidearecommon.

Thequestionofhowtopunishmurderershasbeendebatedforcenturies;mostprominentlywhetherornot
itisjustifiabletoinflictthedeathpenaltyuponsomeonewhohastakenthelifeofaninnocentvictim.To
some,thereisnodoubtthatamurderershouldbekilleditisthebasicpremisesofaneyeforaneyeora
lifeforalife.Peoplewhobelievethismayfeelthatsomeonewhohastakenalifeshouldforfeithisown.
Othersbelievethatthereisneveranyjustificationforputtingsomeonetodeath,andthatthedeathpenaltyis
justaswrongastheactualmurder.InVietnam,thedeathpenaltyislegalbyshootingandlethalinjection.
(luatminhkhue.vn,2015)

Theprimaryalternativetothedeathpenaltyformurderers is imprisonment.Eventhis iscontroversial

becausemanypeoplefeelthatkeepingaprisoneraliveandbehindbarsfortherestoftheirexistenceisa
wasteoftaxpayersmoney.Thisalsoleadstothequestionofwhetherornotpeoplewhoareincarceratedin
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penitentiariescanbecomerehabilitated,andreenterthefreeworldasresponsibleandbeneficialmembersof
society.Manycountrieswhooncefullysupportedthedeathpenaltyhavenowbannedthepractice.Whileit
isstilllegalinmostpartsoftheUnitedStates,itisrarelypracticed.Thisleavesimprisonmentasthemost
common form of punishment for most murderers. How much time they spend behind bars is largely
dependentonthecircumstancessurroundingthekilling.(crimemuseum.org,2015).

Thesubjectofhowbesttopunishmurdererswillalwaysbecontroversial.Theonethingthatmostpeople
canagreeonisthatanypersonwhotakesthelifeofaninnocentvictimmustbemadetopaytheirdebtto
society.Inthefuture,theycangetmoreandmoresevereifthegovernmentdoesnothaveappropriate
solutions to limit this crime. Investigating thoroughly the reasons of different kinds of murder, some
coursesofactionscanbeproposed.

Solutions
Therearedifferentsolutionsfordifferentcountriesbasedontheircurrentgunlaws.Vietnamisacountry
thatdoesntallowguns.Herearesomesolutions:Thefirstandmostimportantsolutionmustbeenhancing
awarenessofeverysinglecitizen.Itisofgreatimportancetoeducatepeoplelifeskillsaswellasknowledge
oflaw(NguyenAnhThom,2015).Itshightimeforustoconsidertheeffectivenessofcohesion"triangle":
familyschoolsociety.Families,especiallyparents,whodirectlyinfluenceachildsmatureness,mustpay
properattentiontothewishesofthechildineverystageinordertopreventthemfrombeingaffected,
draggedbyfriendsandtheInternet(PhamHongHai).Familyisthecoreofeducation.Familiesneedto
orienttheirchildrentolivingstandardsandgoodmoralvaluesbetter.Inadditiontofamilyeducation,
agencies, organizations and departments should strengthen communication and dissemination of the
provisionsofthelaw.Itshouldorganizemoreprogramstoencourageanindependentlifestyle(TrieuTrung
Dung).Tobuildacomprehensiveprograminraisingawarenessagainstmurder,everyonemustprotect
himselffirstandthenfamilyandsocietyshouldcooperateineducatingagoodcitizen.
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Thesecondcourseofactionbelongstothelocalgovernment.Theyshouldcomprehensivelypromotethe
propagationthroughthemassmediaandindirectcommunicationtoraiseawarenessamongmembersofthe
familyandcommunity.Besides,theyshouldalsoraiseawarenessaboutvigilanceandskillsofsocialevils
ofallpeopleinthecommunityandmembersofthefamily.Itisnecessarytoimproveresponsibilityofthe
committeesandlocalgovernmentsinthefightagainstsocialevils.Moreover,preventionprogramsagainst
socialevilsshouldbeputintoresolutions,andplanofdistributingpoliceandarmyinthecommunityto
preventthecrimeontime(kiengiangvn.vn).

Thelocalcommunitycandoalottohelptheircitizensdealwithmurder.Thepolicecanstrengthenthe
investigationandinspectioninlargescale,smashanddestroythecriminalsholes,prosecuteofcriminal
gangs involved in crime is directly related to social evils. Moreover, they can enhance geographical
management,objectmanagement,managementunitsandmanagementcadres,timelydetectionofviolations
ofsocialillsfromthefamilycommunity(vienkiemsatquangbinh.gov.vn,205).Besidesthat,thelocalcan
holdsomecampaigntoawarepeopleofthedangerofgunandhowtodealwithmurdercrimeaswellas
educatepeopleaboutselfawarenesstoprotectthemselvesindangerouscircumstances.

Intermsofglobalaction,manycountriesallowguns.Forcountrieswheregunsarelegalherearesome
solutions, it is acceptable that other countries can consider the benefits of no guns. Among them is
preventingcrimesandmurderswithguns.Moreover,incasegunisillegal,agreatdealofmurderscases
relatedtogunsconfidentlydeclines.Somemorebenefitsofnogunzonearepeoplecannotabusegunfor
theirpersonalpurposessuchasprotectingtheirpossessionsorselfdefenceandthisavoidsomeinnocent
accidents.

First,gunmassacresmostoftenuselegalweapons.AccordingtoMotherJones,ofthemorethan70mass
shootingsintheUnitedStatesinthelast30years,aboutthreequartersofthegunsusedwereobtained
legallybythekillers.Proguncontroladvocatesbelievetoughergunlawscouldhavepotentiallyprevented
thesecrimes.Apparently,gunisthemostconvenientandquickestweaponisusedforkillingaperson.Once
thishazardousdevicefallsintobadguys,itwillcauseagreatnumberofpeoplekilledinashorttime.Itis
therefore,thosecountriesthatresistgunforcitizensmayreduceaconsiderablemurdercasesusinggun.

Next,background checks will helpkeep guns out ofthehands ofpeoplewhoshould nothave them,
Americans for Responsible Solutions, supported by former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her
astronauthusbandMarkKelly,advocateforbackgroundcheckstopreventcriminals,domesticabusers,and
seriouslymentallyillpeoplefrombuyingguns.Thegroupsayslawsrequiringbackgroundcheckshave
preventedthepurchaseofgunsbynearly2millionpeoplewhoshouldnothavehadthem.Withtheattempt
of every single citizen on this globe, the world can be better with fewer people commit this crime
(AmericanGovernmentSecondAmendment,2013).

Reflection
Afteraperiodoftimecompletingthereport,mythoughthaschangedalot.Foralongtime,Iusedtofeel
thatmurderisastrangeissueuntilIfoundthatmurderhashappenedwithagreatnumbersofcasesin
Vietnamandallovertheworld.ItissoluckythatIstillliveinaquitepeacefulplaceinDanang.My
neighborslovepeace,liveinharmonywitheachotherandarewelleducated.Whatismoreisthatitis
illegaltousegunsinVietnamandthatisanadvantage.Therefore,peoplecannotusegunsasaweaponto
murder.So,itdecreasesaconsiderablerateofmurderrelatedtoguns.Itisclearthatifthecitizensarenot
allowedtousegunundernocircumstances,theywillnothaveopportunitiestotakeactionswithguns.
Sincegunisafastandfuriousweapon,itcaneasilykillagreatnumberofpeopleinashorttime.Incase
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gunfallsintothewronghands,suchasactivistorganizations,itcouldbeaposeriskandbeusedtoharm
innocentpeople.

However,Danangisoneofthebiggestcities inVietnamandpeoplecomeandleavemoreandmore
nowadayssoitininevitablethatsocialinjusticesuchasmurdercanspread.Besides,themodernsociety
changespeoplesthoughtalotabouthumaneandresponsibility.Theydaretokillalotofpeoplewhoare
humanbeingsandequalwiththeminanyhumansrights.Recently,therearesomecasesofmassmurder
thatmakesmefeelinsecurewhengoingoutatnight.Peoplealsohavetoraisetheirselfawarenessto
protectthemselvesamongtheirrelationships.

AsfarasImconcerned,itissafertobeinrelationshipswithgoodpeoplewhoIcantrustbecausethereis
noneedtoworrywhethertheywillphysicallyhurtyouornot.Learningtojudgeapersonscharacterisa
skillthatpeoplemustlearninordertoprotectthemselves.Bychoosingkind,safepeopletobearoundyou
protectyourself.Ifsomeonegetsinvolvedinpoorchoicessuchasviolenceordrugstheyputthemselvesin
anenvironmentwherethingscanbedangerous.Bichisagreatexample,shehungoutwithTuwhohada
badtemperandasaresultshegotkilledbecausesheistheonewhochosetobeinthisrelationshipwithTu.
IfBichhadmadeabetterchoiceshemayhavebeensafetoday.

Conclusion
Inconclusion,Ihavelearntusefulinformationinraisingmyselfawarenesswithmurderthroughmy
report.Ihavelearnedthatchoosingtherightpeopletobeinarelationshipwithtoprotectmyselfand
behavinginafriendlywaytoavoidrevenge.Alsowhenlivingincountriesinwhichgunsareillegalcanbe
safersinceithelpstodecreasethecrimeofmurderrelatedtogun.
MurderisoneofthemostseriousviolentcrimesgoingupinVietnamandthathurtsthecitizensalot.Itis
acceptabletosaythatthemurderrateisrisingandcancauseseriousconsequencestoourlifeinthevery
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nearfuture.Itisthedutyofeverysinglepersontocontributetothecampaignagainstmurdertobuilda
betterplanettoenjoythiswonderfullife.

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