Decree No. 53-CP stipulates measures for handling state officials and employees and persons involved in prostitution, narcotics, gambling, and excessive drunkenness.

DECREE

OF THE GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 53-CP ON JUNE 28, 1994 REGARDING THE MEASURES TO HANDLE PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND STATE EMPLOYEES AND PERSONS INVOLVED IN PROSTITUTION, DRUGS, GAMBLING, AND DRUNKENNESS

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;
Pursuant to the Ordinance on Administrative Sanctions for Violations dated November 30, 1989;
Pursuant to the proposal of the Minister of Interior and the Minister of Justice,

DECREE:

Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.

Prostitution, drugs, gambling, and drunkenness are social evils that contravene morality and national customs, adversely affecting material and cultural life of the people and social order and security.

The handling of prostitution, drug use, gambling, and drunkenness must be based on the nature, degree, and circumstances of the violations to apply appropriate measures.

Article 2.

State agencies shall coordinate with the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Vietnam Women's Union, the General Confederation of Labor of Vietnam, the Vietnam Farmers' Association, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, and other social organizations to promote propaganda, education, and struggle against prostitution, drug use, gambling, and drunkenness.

Article 3.

1- Strict administrative penalties and disciplinary actions must be imposed on:

- Hotel managers, hotel owners, restaurant owners, innkeepers, or other facility owners where acts of prostitution, drug use, gambling, and drunkenness occur under their management;

- Public officials and state employees who engage in acts of purchasing prostitution, using drugs, gambling, and drunkenness regardless of their positions;

- Persons who tolerate or cover up activities related to prostitution, drug use, gambling, and drunkenness;

- Repeat offenders of acts of prostitution, drug use, gambling, and drunkenness.

2- Individuals organizing, brokering prostitution, using drugs, producing, storing, buying, selling, or transporting illegal drugs, organizing gambling, betting, or engaging in gambling shall be criminally prosecuted. If such acts do not reach the level for criminal prosecution, they shall be subject to administrative penalties and disciplinary actions.

Chapter 2:

VIOLATIONS AND FORMS OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Article 4.

1- Public officials and state employees who purchase prostitution:

a) Shall be fined from VND 100,000 to VND 1,000,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of a warning, demotion in rank, or dismissal.

b) If they repeat the offense, they shall be fined from VND 1,500,000 to VND 2,000,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment.

2- Non-public officials and non-state employees who purchase prostitution shall be fined from VND 50,000 to VND 100,000 depending on the nature, degree, and specific circumstances of the violation; if they repeat the offense, they shall be fined from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000; in all cases of violation, they must be notified to the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where they reside for education.

3- Public officials and state employees who sell prostitution:

a) Shall be warned and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of a warning, demotion in rank, or dismissal.

b) If they repeat the offense, they shall be warned and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment.

4- Non-public officials and non-state employees who sell prostitution shall be warned and notified to the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where they reside for education depending on the nature, degree, and specific circumstances of the violation.

For individuals identified as habitual prostitutes, in addition to being penalized, they must be sent to educational and labor centers.

5- Handling of violators who are minors shall be applied according to Article 29 of the Administrative Sanctions Ordinance. Violators who are minors may be sent to agricultural and vocational schools for education and training.

Article 5.

1- Public officials and state employees who use drugs:

a) Shall be fined from VND 50,000 to VND 200,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of a warning, demotion in rank, or dismissal.

b) If they repeat the offense, they shall be fined from VND 200,000 to VND 300,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment.

2- Non-public officials and non-state employees who use drugs shall be warned or fined from VND 100,000 to VND 300,000 depending on the nature, degree, and specific circumstances of the violation and notified to the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where they reside for education and notification to their family.

For drug addicts, in addition to being fined, they shall be required to undergo rehabilitation at home with family guarantors or at State Health Centers depending on the type of offender.

3- Individuals producing, storing, buying, selling, or transporting illegal drugs without reaching the level for criminal prosecution shall be fined from VND 1,000,000 to VND 10,000,000; confiscated are the objects and means of violation; public officials and state employees shall be notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment; non-public officials and non-state employees shall be notified to the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town where they reside for education.

Article 6. Public officials and state employees who gamble without reaching the level for criminal prosecution:

a) Shall be fined from VND 20,000 to VND 200,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of a warning, demotion in rank, or dismissal.

b) If they repeat the offense, they shall be fined from VND 200,000 to VND 300,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment.

Article 7.

Public officials and state employees who are drunk and disorderly (losing their dignity at work, restaurants, eateries, causing harm to public order):

a) Shall be fined from VND 20,000 to VND 100,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of a warning, demotion in rank, or dismissal.

b) If they repeat the offense, they shall be fined from VND 100,000 to VND 200,000 and notified to their workplace for disciplinary action in the form of termination of employment.

Military personnel and police officers who are drunk and disorderly must face stricter disciplinary actions compared to other violators.

Article 8.

1- The direct superiors of those persons who commit violations mentioned in Article 4, Article 5, Article 6, and Article 7 of this Decree, if they cover up or fail to promptly impose disciplinary sanctions on the violators, shall be subject to disciplinary sanctions in the form of a warning, dismissal from office, or forced resignation.

2- The Chairpersons of People's Committees at communes, wards, towns, and those persons directly responsible for combating prostitution, drug abuse, gambling, if they tolerate, cover up, or fail to promptly address these offenses within their jurisdiction, shall be subject to disciplinary sanctions in the form of a warning, dismissal from office, or forced resignation.

3- The directors and owners of hotels, guesthouses, restaurants, nightclubs, lodges, resorts, or other establishments that harbor prostitution, act as intermediaries for prostitution, or organize the use of drugs or gambling shall be subject to the provisions of Articles 200, 202, and 203 of the Penal Code.

In cases where negligence leads to prostitution, drug abuse, or gambling occurring within establishments under their management, they shall be fined from VND 2,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 and additionally:

- Subject to disciplinary sanctions in the form of a warning, dismissal from office, or forced resignation, if the establishment is state-owned.

- Have their business licenses revoked, if the establishment is privately owned.

Chapter 3:

AUTHORITY AND PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING VIOLATIONS

Article 9.

The authority to impose administrative penalties is defined as follows:

1- Police officers belonging to administrative management forces, economic police, criminal police, investigation police, and mobile police may impose warnings and fines up to VND 20,000.

2- Chairpersons of People's Committees at communes, wards, towns; Chiefs of Ward Police Stations; Team Leaders and Deputy Team Leaders of Teams of Administrative Management Police, Economic Police, Criminal Police, Investigation Police, and Mobile Police may impose warnings and fines up to VND 50,000.

3- Heads and Deputy Heads of Provincial-level Departments of Administrative Management Police, Economic Police, Criminal Police, and Investigation Police; Heads and Deputy Heads of Mobile Police Units at battalion level and above; Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of County Police Departments; Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of Border Guard Posts; Commanders and Deputy Commanders of Border Guard Battalions at provincial level; Commanders and Deputy Commanders of Border Guard Flotillas; Commanders of Border Gate Stations may impose warnings and fines up to VND 200,000 and revoke business licenses, confiscate contraband items and means of transportation.

4- Chairpersons of People's Committees at districts and equivalent levels may apply administrative penalty forms such as warnings, fines up to VND 2,000,000, revocation of business licenses, confiscation of contraband items and means of transportation.

5- Chairpersons of People's Committees at provinces and centrally-administered cities may apply administrative penalty forms such as warnings, fines up to VND 10,000,000, revocation of business licenses, confiscation of contraband items and means of transportation, decisions to send individuals under the age of eighteen to rehabilitation centers, detoxification centers, labor centers, and agricultural and vocational schools.

Article 10. The authority to impose disciplinary sanctions is defined as follows:

Heads of agencies and organizations have the authority to decide on imposing disciplinary sanctions on civil servants and employees under their agency or organization according to current laws on disciplinary sanctions for civil servants and employees.

Article 11.

Procedures for imposing administrative penalties stipulated in this Decree shall be applied according to the provisions of Chapter IV of the Administrative Sanctions Law, but the decision-maker shall not collect fines on the spot. The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs shall guide the collection and payment of fines.

Within seven days from the date of the administrative penalty decision, the authorized decision-maker must send copies of the record and the penalty decision to:

- The agency or organization where the person being penalized works for disciplinary action, if the person being penalized is a state civil servant or employee.

- The People's Committee at the commune, ward, or town where the person being penalized resides for education, and to compel them to commit to not repeating the offense, if the person being penalized is not a state civil servant or employee.

Article 12.

When imposing administrative penalties on violators and finding it necessary to compel medical treatment, labor, detoxification, or enrollment in agricultural and vocational schools, the authorized decision-maker must establish a file and transfer it to the competent authority within fifteen days from the date of the penalty decision to transfer to the People's Committee at the province or centrally-administered city level.

Decisions on applying compulsory medical treatment, detoxification, labor, and enrollment in agricultural and vocational schools must be notified to the People's Procuracy at the same level, the party concerned, and their family.

Article 13.

Persons subject to administrative penalties or disciplinary sanctions under the provisions of this Decree have the right to appeal.

Appeal procedures and authority to resolve appeals regarding administrative penalties and disciplinary sanctions are governed by the Administrative Sanctions Law and the Law on Appeals and Complaints of Citizens.

Chapter 6:

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities are responsible for implementing this Decree.

Article 15.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government's Organizational and Cadre Department, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Training, and the General Administration of Tourism, within the scope of their functions and tasks, are responsible for guiding and organizing the implementation of this Decree.

The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, and Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for implementing this Decree.