05 November 2004 :

Vietnam's justice minister said he would propose changing the law to strike corruption, bribery and fraud off a list of capital crimes, in a bid to bring the country closer to international standards. Justice Minister Uong Chu Luu told the Tuoi Tre newspaper that Vietnam was considering modifying its criminal code.
"To catch up with the trend of democracy and humanity, I think that it's now time to review relevant articles to exempt the death penalty for economic and some other types of crime, while still ensuring the seriousness of our struggle against crime," Luu was quoted as saying.
"We will cooperate with relevant anti-crime organisations and agencies, looking for public opinions and learning from the experience of other countries before submitting the proposal to the government," he added.
The National Assembly, usually very faithful to the Communist Party's decisions, would have to ratify any reform of the criminal code.