Evasion of Alimony Obligations Can Result in Up to 5 Years of Imprisonment

Illustrative image

To be specific, according to the provisions of Article 54 Decree 167/2013/ND-CP, those who refuse or evade maintenance obligations towards their ex-spouses post-divorce, maintenance obligations among siblings, grandparents and grandchildren, as well as maintenance and caregiving obligations towards parents or children post-divorce, will be subject to a warning or a fine ranging from 100,000 VND to 300,000 VND.

Article 54. Violations of regulations on caregiving, nurturing, and maintenance

Warning or a fine ranging from 100,000 VND to 300,000 VND for one of the following acts:

1. Refusing or evading maintenance obligations between spouses post-divorce; refusing or evading nurturing obligations among siblings, grandparents and grandchildren as stipulated by law.

2. Refusing or evading maintenance and nurturing obligations towards parents; maintenance and caregiving obligations towards children post-divorce as stipulated by law.

Specifically, if a person who is obliged to provide maintenance and has the actual capability to fulfill this obligation according to legal regulations refuses or evades it, causing the dependant to fall into a situation that endangers their life or health, or if the person has been administratively sanctioned but continues to violate, they will be subject to a warning, non-custodial reform for up to 2 years, or imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years for the crime of refusing or evading maintenance obligations as stipulated in Article 186 of the Criminal Code 2015 and Clause 37 Article 1 of the Law amending the Criminal Code 2017, with imprisonment up to 5 years for cases falling under Clause 2 Article 380 of the Criminal Code 2015.

Article 380. Crime of non-execution of judgments

1. Anyone who has the capability but does not comply with an effective court judgment or decision despite having been subjected to coercive measures according to the law or having been administratively sanctioned for this act but continues to violate, shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years.

2. Committing the crime in one of the following cases shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 2 years to 5 years:

a) Resisting executors or persons performing official duties;

b) Using sophisticated and cunning methods;

c) Dispersing assets.

3. The offender may also be fined from 5,000,000 VND to 50,000,000 VND.

- Nguyen Trinh -

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE