Vietnam, Gang Forging Negative COVID-19 Test Certificates Sentenced to Prison

Phan Thiet People's Court Sentences 6 to 1 Year 3 Months to 2 Years Imprisonment
Fake Documents Used to Pass Checkpoints in Locked-Down Areas

On the 24th (local time), the Phan Thiet People's Court in Vietnam sentenced six members of a group who forged and sold documents such as negative COVID-19 test certificates to prison. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A group involved in forging and selling COVID-19 test certificates and travel permits in Vietnam has been sentenced to prison.

On the 24th (local time), according to the Vietnamese local media VN Express, the People's Court of Phan Thiet in Binh Thuan Province in central Vietnam sentenced six people, including Diep Thu Hieu, to prison terms ranging from 1 year and 3 months to 2 years.

Last September, as COVID-19 spread in Vietnam, the Phan Thiet authorities set up checkpoints to restrict movement, requiring a travel permit and a negative COVID-19 test certificate to pass through.

The group was charged with forging and selling these two documents. They sold travel permits at 250,000 dong each (approximately 15,000 KRW).

Their forgery scheme was uncovered when a resident who received forged documents submitted a fake test certificate to get vaccinated against COVID-19, prompting an investigation by the authorities.

Meanwhile, recently in Vietnam, brokers committing COVID-19 rapid test scams targeting Korean tourists have become another issue.

Centered around VietJet, a low-cost Vietnamese airline, there were cases where Korean passengers were denied acceptance of their negative test certificates at the boarding counter by staff, and only after undergoing re-testing arranged by brokers who approached them on-site were they able to depart.

The problem was that, upon later verification, the actual test cost per person was only 150,000 dong, but the brokers charged 1,000,000 dong, pocketing 850,000 dong per person through fraudulent activities.

In response, on the 7th, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Vietnam requested an investigation from the local police.

The obligation to submit a negative COVID-19 test certificate before entry for all arrivals to Korea was lifted from 0:00 on September 3, and only the PCR test on the first day after entry remains mandatory.