Exploiting Humanitarianism for Business Purposes

Recently, the article about the 20,000 VND lemon bag of an elderly woman and the caution shown by four luxury car passengers was widely shared and highly concerning to the online community. Most people were very upset by the insensitivity of the four passengers towards the elderly woman, who, in her old age, still had to struggle to make a living. However, this insensitivity might have a reason.

Source: VietnamNet

Not only these passengers but also many others might not lack compassion but are wary due to sophisticated deceitful schemes nowadays that make them suppress it. In the past, there have been many reports and cases of ringleaders exploiting lonely elderly people for profit. So what does Vietnamese law stipulate regarding penalties for this behavior?

According to Clause 5, Article 9 Law on the Elderly 2009, the act of forcing elderly people to work or perform tasks contrary to legal regulations is strictly prohibited by the law. Anyone violating this will face administrative penalties and possibly criminal prosecution. Specifically:

A fine ranging from 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND will be imposed on individuals who force elderly people to work or perform tasks contrary to the law (based on Point b, Clause 2, Article 20 of Decree 144/2013/ND-CP).

Furthermore, those who commit this act may be considered guilty of mistreating others as stipulated in Article 110 of the Criminal Code 1999:

1. Anyone who cruelly treats a dependent person shall be subject to a warning, non-custodial reform for up to one year, or imprisonment from three months to two years.
2. Committing the crime in one of the following circumstances shall be subject to imprisonment from one year to three years:

Against the elderly, children, pregnant women, or disabled persons;

Against multiple people.

Using elderly people as tools, exploiting human compassion and humanity for business purposes, is an unethical act and a severe violation of human rights. However, the penalties for this behavior are not truly adequate and must be imposed more strictly.

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