Is carrying a baseball bat for self-defense considered illegal storage of combat gears in Vietnam?

Is carrying a baseball bat for self-defense considered illegal storage of combat gears in Vietnam?

In Clause 11 of Article 3 of the Law on management and use of weapons, explosives and combat gears 2017, the supporting tools are as follows:

11. “combat gear” means equipment or military animals used for carrying out missions and providing protection, which aims to reduce and prevent the violators from resisting or running way, protect law enforcement officials , people performing protection missions or giving signals of emergency, including:

a) Stun guns, guns shooting asphyxiant gas, guns shooting poisons, tranquillizer guns, coilguns, net guns; rope launchers; guns using plastic bullets, guns using exploding bullets, guns using rubber bullets, tear gas, flares, tracers and ammunition used for these types of guns;

b) Devices used for spraying tear gas, asphyxiant gas, poisons, anesthetics or itching powder

c) Smoke grenades, tear gas grenades

d) Stun batons, rubber batons, metal batons; figure-8 handcuffs, spike-boards, barbed wires; armors; electric gloves, knife gloves; shields, bulletproof helmets; sonic weapons;

dd) Military animals which are animals trained and used for protecting national security and ensuring social order and safety;

e) Devices with similar properties and effects which are equipment not manufactured in conformity with technical standards and designs of legal producers and have their properties and effects similar to the combat gears prescribed in Points a, b, c and d of this Clause.

According to the above regulations in Vietnam, baseball bats are not considered combat gears. Therefore, you bring a baseball bat to protect yourself from breaking the law.

How much is penalty for illegal storage of combat gears in Vietnam?

In Clause 3, Article 11 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP on violations against regulations on management and use of weapons, explosive materials, explosive precursors, combat gears, fireworks, firecrackers, and dangerous banned toys as follows:

3. A fine ranging from 5.000.000 VND to 10.000.000 VND shall be imposed for any of the following violations:

a) Exchanging, giving away, sending, borrowing, lending, renting, leasing, pledging weapons, combat gears, explosive fireworks, smuggled fireworks or pyrotechnic compositions for illegal firework production; parts, assemblies of weapons, combat gears or scraps and refuses thereof;

b) Transporting or destroying weapons, explosive materials, explosive precursors or combat gears without ensuring safety or affecting the environment but not liable to criminal prosecution;

c) Failure to carry out testing, inspection, assessment and registration as prescribed by regulations of law on management of product quality before initiation production, sale, use of weapons or combat gears in Vietnam;

d) Illegal storage, transport of junk and scrap of weapons and combat gears;

dd) Transport, storage of dangerous banned toys;

e) Selling explosive precursors to an organization or enterprise that has not been granted the certificate of security and order, certificate of eligibility to manufacture industrial explosives, license for sale of explosive precursors or written approval issued by a competent authority;

g) Losing provided cold weapons or combat gears;

h) Using weapons or combat gears without a license;

i) Illegal use of firecrackers, fireworks or pyrotechnic compositions;

k) Manufacturing, providing, storing, transporting, repairing weapons or combat gears with a license but failing to comply with regulations of law.

Thus, in case you use illegal combat gears, you may be fined from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 according to the provisions of law in Vietnam.

Is there penalty of imprisonment for illegal storage of combat gears in Vietnam? 

In Article 306 of the 2015 Penal Code as amended by Clause 108, Article 1 of the Penal Code Amendment Law 2017, illegal manufacture, possession, transport, use, trading or appropriation of hunting rifles, cold weapons, sporting weapons or combat gears as follows:

1. Any person who illegally manufactures, possesses, transports, uses, deals in or appropriates a hunting rifle, cold weapon, sporting weapon or a weapon with similar functions or a combat gear despite the fact that he/she has incurred an administrative penalty for any of the offences specified in this Article or has an unspent conviction for the same offence shall face a penalty of 03 - 24 months' imprisonment.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 01 - 05 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The quantity of the illegal items is large;

c) Illegal goods are transported or traded across the border;

d) The offence results in the death of a person;

dd) The offence causes ≥ 61% WPI for another person;

e) The offence causes a total WPI of 61% - 121% for more than one person;

g) The property damage caused by the offence is assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

h) Dangerous recidivism.

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 03 - 07 years' imprisonment:

a) The quantity of the illegal items is very or extremely large;

b) The offence results in the death of ≥ 02 people;

c) The offence results in bodily harm to ≥ 02 people who suffer from a total physical disability of ≥ 122%;

d) The offence results in property damage assessed at ≥ VND 500,000,000.

4. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000, put under mandatory supervision or prohibited from residence for 01 - 05 years.

According to this Article, those who illegally use combat gears may be sentenced to between 3 months and 07 years of imprisonment, depending on the severity of their acts and decisions of the Court in Vietnam.

Best Regards!