Will people be arrested for not returning the property found in Vietnam?

Will people be arrested for not returning the property found in Vietnam?

According to Article 176 of the Criminal Code 2015 supplemented by Point d, Clause 1, Article 2 of the Law amending the Criminal Code 2017 , there are provisions on illegal possession of property as follows:

1. Any person who finds or mistakenly receives a piece of property which is assessed at from VND 10,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000, a relic, an antique or an item of historical or cultural value but deliberately fails to return it to its legitimate owner or fails to submit it a competent authority after the owner or the competent authority requests the return or submission of such property as prescribed by law shall be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 02 years' community sentence or 03 - 24 months' imprisonment.

2. If the property obtained is assessed at ≥ VND 200,000,000 or national treasure, the offender shall face a penalty of 01 - 05 years' imprisonment.

According to article, if the money you dropped is worth more than VND 10 million and you have asked the person who picked up this money, but the person who did not pay you back, the person may be subject to a fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 50,000,000, a non-custodial reform penalty of up to 02 years or a prison term of between 03 months and 02 years in Vietnam.

What should people do when picking up the abandoned property in Vietnam?

According to Clause 1, Article 230 of the Civil Code 2015 , it is stipulated as follows:

1. A person finding an object which another person has lost or mislaid and being aware of the address of the person having lost or mislaid the object must inform or return the object to such person. If the finder is not aware of the address of the person having lost or mislaid the object, it must inform or deliver the object to the people's committee or police station of the nearest commune in order that a public announcement may be made notifying the owner to reclaim the object.

The people's committee or police station of commune which received the object must notify the finder of the results of their inquiries in order to determine the owner.

Thus, when picking up abandoned property in Vietnam, the picker should notify the abandoned person or hand it over to the commune-level People's Committee or commune-level police at the nearest place.

Best Regards!