Recently, cases of illegal entry to Vietnam that were found to have Covid-19 have raised concerns that the disease could cause an outbreak in the community at the end of the year. Current law of Vietnam provides for strict handling of these cases.
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Previously, on the evening of December 26, the Ministry of Health of Vietnam announced that Vietnam has 1 new case of Covid-19 that is a male, 32 years old, Vietnamese nationality, with an address in Nhon Phu commune, Mang Thit district, Vinh Long province. This is the BN1440 and is the case from Myanmar who illegally entered through the open road at 2 am on December 24 and returned home in Vinh Long. According to the test result on December 26 of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the patient was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Relating to the BN1440, the case of a young man in Ho Chi Minh City who has just tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 is N.Q.H., 23 years old, Vietnamese nationality, residing in Su Van Hanh apartment building, ward 9, district 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Previously, this man lived with BN1440 in Myanmar, then illegally entered Vietnam through a trail and opening. From the above incident, the situation of illegal entry has raised concerns about the risk of an outbreak at the end of the year as well as increased the burden on regional epidemic prevention along the border lines.
Considering the violations of the subjects, based on current law provisions, these subjects can be handled in the following forms:
1. Administrative sanction
Considering the behavior of BN1440, we see that this person has the following acts: (1) illegal entry to the country; (2) intentional malpractice of medical declaration.
(1) Illegal entry to the country:
According to Clause 3 Article 17 of the Decree No. 167/2013/NĐ-CP of the Vietnam’s Government, crossing the national border without entry or exit procedures as prescribed shall be imposed a fine of between VND 3,000,000 and 5,000,000.
(2) Intentional malpractice of medical declaration:
On September 28, 2020, Vietnam’s Government issued Decree No. 117/2020/NĐ-CP prescribing penalties for administrative violations in medical sector. According to Article 11 of the Decree No. 117/2020/NĐ-CP, refusing or evading medical isolation or coercive medical isolation measures implemented by competent authorities shall be fined from VND 5.000.000 to VND 10.000.000. In case of refusing or evading the implementation of a competent authority’s decision on medical isolation or coercive medical isolation of persons infected with group A infectious diseases, border health quarantine subjects infected with group A infectious diseases or at the request of a competent authority, the fine shall be ranging from VND 15.000.000 to VND 20.000.000. Compared with the previous regulations, the penalty for this act has been doubled. In addition, people who violate regulations on isolation may also be subject to additional sanctions such as forced medical isolation or forced medical isolation.
According to Point d Clause 1 Article 3 of the Law on handling administrative violations 2012 of Vietnam, if a person commits many acts of administrative violation, or administrative violation many times he/she shall be sanctioned for each act of violation. Thus, BN1440 can be administratively sanctioned for illegal entry with a fine of up to VND 5,000,000 VND and also for intentionally failing to declare health with a fine of up to VND 20,000,000.
2. Criminal prosecution
In case illegal entry poses a risk of epidemic outbreaks, it may also be considered for criminal prosecution under Article 240 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam on crime of spreading dangerous infectious diseases in human.
To be specific, according to Article 240 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam:
Article 240. Spreading dangerous infectious diseases in human
1. A person who commits any of the following acts that spread dangerous infectious diseases in human shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of 01 - 05 years' imprisonment:
a) Bringing or allowing another entity to bring animals, plants or products thereof or other items that are likely to transmit dangerous infectious diseases in human out of the epidemic zone, unless otherwise prescribed by law;
b) Bringing or allowing another entity to bring animals, plants or products thereof or other products that are infected or carry dangerous pathogens that are likely to be transmitted to human into Vietnam’s territory;
c) Other acts that spread dangerous infections in human.
2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 05 - 10 years' imprisonment:
a) The offence results in a declaration of an epidemic by the President of the People’s Committee of a province or the Minister of Health;
b) The offence results in the death of a person.
3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 10 - 12 years' imprisonment:
a) The offence results in a declaration of an epidemic by the Prime Minister;
b) The offence results in the death of 02 or more people.
4. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 100,000,000, prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain works for 01 - 05 years.
To determine the case of “other acts that spread dangerous infections in human”, on March 30, 2020, the Council of Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam issued the Official Dispatch No. 45/TANDTC-PC in 2020. According to this document, “other acts that spread dangerous infections in human” in accordance with Point c Clause 1 Article 240 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam include:
- Breaking out of the quarantine area;
- Failure to comply with quarantine regulations;
- Refusing or avoiding quarantine or enforcement of quarantine;
- Failure to make or truthfully make health declaration.
Concurrently, according to the Official Dispatch No. 45/TANDTC-PC, the Council of Justice of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam also requests to impose severe punishments for offenses that result in serious consequences (transmitting the disease to more than 01 person, causing death, etc.).
Based on these provisions, those who illegally enter the country and pose a risk of epidemic outbreaks may be sentenced to a maximum prison term of 12 years in cases where the epidemic must be announced under the Prime Minister's authority or cause the death of 02 or more people.
As can be seen, the current law stipulates very heavy penalties for those who do not comply with the isolation regulations in general and illegally enter the country, causing the risk of epidemic outbreaks in particular. With the dangerous nature of the Covid-19 epidemic as we have seen along with the current Tet holiday, each individual needs to have a sense of self-awareness as well as detect violations that risk spreading the disease to protect the health of themselves and the community.
Thuy Tram
