Mini electric cars of unknown origin circulating in Nghe An

In Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district, there is currently a mini electric car without a license plate that regularly circulates on inter-commune roads. The owner of this car said: “I bought it from someone in Vinh city for 75 million VND, but it does not have any registration or inspection papers. I mainly use this car to take my children to school and run on inter-village and inter-commune roads.”

According to observations, this electric car has a pretty eye-catching appearance on the outside. The car has 4 seats, a sunroof system, and LED lights. The interior of the car is designed to be minimal, without air conditioning, only using a fan. If you want to pull the car window, the user must use their hand to roll the window up and down.

This car has a 1,500W engine, maximum speed of 50km/h. Each time the battery is fully charged, the car can run 75-100km. The car is 2.2m long, 1.6m high, 1.2m wide…

Continuing to observe in Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts, we also discovered a number of other mini electric cars without license plates circulating on inter-commune roads in Dien Hanh commune, Dien Chau district; on National Highway 7A through Dien Xuan commune and Do Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district.

In Do Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, there is a mini electric car without a license plate, with a symbol on the back of the car for the disabled. The car owner said: The car has no papers at all, bought for more than 50 million VND, mainly traveling on village and inter-commune roads.

Observing the car's interior is quite simple, some positions such as on the screen near the steering wheel have Chinese characters.

Mr. Duong Cong Ly - Head of Nam Can International Border Gate Customs Branch said: On the occasion of Tet, the unit coordinated with functional forces to increase inspection of prohibited and smuggled goods, however, we have not yet detected and handled any cases of this type of mini electric car of unknown origin.

Recently, on social networking sites, there are also advertisements and sales of cheap electric cars of unknown origin. Online sellers also clearly state that these are cars without any papers or invoices, and the cars are not registered or inspected. Customers who want to own one only need to make a deposit in advance and the car will be "shipped" to their home in 2 to 3 weeks.

Most online car sellers do not have stores or headquarters to display cars, but mainly sell online, deliver cars to customers and receive payment.

The authorities advise people not to buy this type of vehicle because it does not have registration papers, cannot be registered, and will be confiscated when in circulation. It is thought that the authorities also need to control and prevent the smuggling of this type of vehicle; including businesses that circumvent the law to import it for internal use in golf courses and tourist areas and then smuggle it out for sale.

A representative of the Traffic Police Department of Nghe An Province said: We will conduct an inspection. If we discover that a mini electric car is not licensed by the competent authority and does not have registration or inspection papers, we will warn and request the owner not to drive it on the road. If the violation continues, we will confiscate this type of vehicle.

Users of smuggled mini electric cars may also be prosecuted for the crime of harboring or consuming property obtained by others through criminal acts under Article 333 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, with the following penalties:

1. Anyone who, without prior promise, harbors or consumes property knowingly obtained by another person through criminal activity, shall be subject to a fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 100,000,000, non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.

2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 3 to 7 years:

a) Organized;

b) Professional in nature;

c) Illegal assets and objects worth from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000;

d) Illegal profits from VND 20,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

d) Dangerous recidivism.

3. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 7 to 10 years:

a) Illegal assets and objects worth from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

b) Illegal profits from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000.

4. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 10 to 15 years:

a) Illegal assets and objects worth VND 1,000,000,000 or more;

b) Illegal profits of 300,000,000 VND or more.

5. The offender may also be fined from VND 5,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or have part or all of his/her property confiscated.