Two women in Nghe An province were fined 15 million VND for posting unverified kidnapping rumors.
Two women who posted information claiming that kidnappings were occurring in Dien Chau district, causing public panic, have been fined 15 million VND by the Nghe An Provincial Police.
At 7:30 PM on April 7, 2025, the Dien Thinh Commune Police discovered a Facebook account named “NH (TAQ)” posting an article reflecting on child abduction incidents occurring in Dien Thinh Commune, Dien Chau District, with the following content:Kidnapping incidents have been happening right near my house, everyone. If you have children, be careful not to let them play or go out alone; they could easily kidnap you."
At the same time, it was discovered that the Facebook account "NT" was also livestreaming the event with similar content. The posts from these two Facebook accounts attracted a lot of interaction. The livestream by the NT account, in particular, received nearly 500 shares and hundreds of comments expressing confusion and curiosity about the information.
Based on the above information, the Internal Political Security Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police quickly verified the accounts.Posting unverified informationAccordingly, it was determined that Ms. NTT (53 years old, owner of the Facebook account “NT”) and Ms. NTH (31 years old, owner of the account “NH (TAQ)”), both residing in Dien Thinh commune, Dien Chau district, Nghe An province, were involved. The Internal Political Security Department, in coordination with the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department and the Dien Thinh Commune Police, promptly carried out investigative measures to clarify the case. The verification results showed that the kidnapping information was false and unfounded.
At the police station, Ms. T. and Ms. H. stated that on the evening of April 7, 2025, they saw several people in the neighborhood gathered, discussing a strange man with unusual behavior who had appeared in the area. Although they had not verified the information, both of them used their phones to livestream and post information claiming that a child kidnapper had appeared in the area. During questioning, Ms. T. and Ms. H. admitted that they did not directly witness the incident but only heard rumors and suspicions from others.
Based on the illegal actions of these two individuals, on April 16, 2025, the Internal Political Security Department of the Nghe An Provincial Police issued a decision to fine Ms. H. and Ms. T. 7.5 million VND each for providing fabricated information about a child abduction case that caused public panic.
In recent days, information about child abductions occurring in several localities across the country, including Nghe An, has been circulating on social media. The Nghe An police have investigated and found that this information is fabricated and intended to attract views. Such fabricated and unfounded information causes public panic and disrupts public order and security. Providing and disseminating false information on social media is subject to administrative penalties and may even lead to criminal prosecution. The police advise citizens to be vigilant and absolutely refrain from posting or sharing unofficial or unverified information.
