The three defendants at the court. — Photo vtv.vn

VĨNH LONG — Now this is an absolutely quackers case.

Three men in the Mekong Delta province of Vĩnh Long hvae been convicted of stealing hundreds of ducks and painting them to avoid detection by the owner, Thanh Niên (Young People) newspaper reported.

The incident occurred last October when Trần Anh Tài asked Chu Viết Sang to help him steal ducks owned by Nguyễn Văn Tam in their local commune of Phú Lộc in Tam Bình District.

The two stole nearly 200 ducks, worth about VNĐ19 million (US$819) and kept them in a nearby field.

To avoid being discovered by Tam, Tài told his brother Trụng Nhựt Trường to paint the ducks black. The next morning, Trường and Sang brought the ducks to the local market for sale. However, police soon arrested them.

On May 8, Tài was sentenced to nine months imprisonment while Sang and Trường got seven-month and six-month jail terms.

Then on August 7, the People’s Court of Vĩnh Long Province opened the appeal trial to the three defendants. As the victim agreed to reduce the penalty for the defendants and they have compensated for the damage, the Jury Board decided to reduce the jail terms. Accordingly, Tài and Sang saw their sentences reduced to four and three months for stealing property.

Trường was given a three-month suspended sentence for consumption of property gained by committed crimes. — VNS