Occupancy Checks: Cong An (Peoples Police) Doing Late Night Checks

0POSTS

11 years ago

Most of us know we have to be registered at the local Cong An occupancy office, detailing all the occupants of an apartment.

A friend called me around 23.25H Sunday night and said two Cong An and an interpreter had rung his apartment bell incessantly awakening him. He answered the door barely dressed and they wanted in. He said he was sleeping.

Long story short, they wanted to see who was sleeping there.

Still later, my friend sent me an SMS saying two other apartments occupied by Foreigners had been rousted awake for the same reasons. One said come back in the morning and the other let one guy (of three) in.

The one who admitted them said all the man did was to check each room and ask the occupants names and check them against a list.

The apartments were on DAO TRI (Everrich Condo) and on PHU THUAN.

See also

Customs in Vietnam - Guide
Why do people ride their scooters with no lights on at night? - 15 Replies
Police check from Vietnam for Australian citizenship - 6 Replies
Police check in HCMC: Why? - 25 Replies
Police check for work permit - 9 Replies
Getting a Police Check document from Vietnam - 25 Replies
Verifying Identity in Vietnam for Banks, Government Portals? - 2 Replies

juwellrana New member

5POSTS

11 years ago

hello

stumpy Laos Expert

18028POSTS

11 years ago

juwellrana wrote:
hello

Hello.
How can we help you ??

juwellrana New member

5POSTS

11 years ago

yes

juwellrana New member

5POSTS

11 years ago

stumpy wrote:
juwellrana wrote:
hello

Hello.
How can we help you ??

yes

stumpy Laos Expert

18028POSTS

11 years ago

juwellrana wrote:
stumpy wrote:
juwellrana wrote:
hello

Hello.
How can we help you ??

yes

We are all a little perplexed by your post.
How can we help you 'What exactly do you want or what are you looking for.

Please give us a little information about yourself and then maybe others will answer your posts.

Do you have something to say regarding the topic of this post which is "occupancy checks "

zanchun Contributor

148POSTS

11 years ago

There is a campaign that the Police will check Registration of Stay of the foreigners . I think so

TeacherWin Member

18POSTS

11 years ago

Regarding the late-night checks and my own experience:

About 3-years ago when I'd just moved to Vietnam, I lived in Bien Hoa and stayed in a hotel not far from the school I worked for.
On occasion, I'd say at least once or twice a week, there would be a late-night, loud and persistent knocking on each room door. This was accompanied with a firm voice yelling something in Vietnamese.
Although I had no clue what they were saying, or what the occasion of their after-midnight visit was for, it was clear they were 'the authorities'.

The commotion annoyed me but also got me curious and on more than one occasion I found myself sitting in my unlit room listening, trying to make out what was happening in the corridors.
-usually a calm conversation with the occupants of the designated rooms followed and that was the end of it.
-a few times it happened that just before the knock-party arrived staff helped someone onto the fire-escape; the person would wait there until the whole ordeal was over. I figured this was a case of an illegal worker.
-another time it appeared the police were accompanied by a woman looking for her cheating husband; it was clear she found him and a drama ensued. It puzzled me a bit why the woman was screaming more at the female occupant than at her own husband (who barely said a word but occasionally tried to prevent the woman from attacking his 'friend') ...or perhaps the woman was actually looking for her daughter...

Later when I asked some people at work about this, they told me the checks were probably related to the after-12-visitors-out rule, and maybe to catch some 'working girls'?
I always reckoned that the reason for skipping my door was me being the only foreigner staying in the hotel and they simply didn't want to deal with anyone NOT speaking Vietnamese.

I guess the same reason for the highway patrol initially pointing his stick in my direction...then quickly picking another target when realizing this is going to give him more trouble than it's worth

I just saw from your post that the time of the checks at your friends apartment were before midnight. I would have guessed that having an unregistered friend over is still perfectly fine:unsure

Cheers,

p.s. the first reply-posts remind me a bit of when I call the helpline of mobifone, or VNPT

Jaitch Guest

0POSTS

11 years ago

TeacherWin wrote:
Regarding the late-night checks and my own experience:

About 3-years ago when I'd just moved to Vietnam, I lived in Bien Hoa and stayed in a hotel not far from the school I worked for.
On occasion, I'd say at least once or twice a week, there would be a late-night, loud and persistent knocking on each room door. This was accompanied with a firm voice yelling something in Vietnamese.
Although I had no clue what they were saying, or what the occasion of their after-midnight visit was for, it was clear they were 'the authorities'.

Hotels are fair game for inspections - always around 23.00-23.30H when the hotel registration sheets are taken in at 22.30H. They run the sheets through the Internal Police computer and choose likely targets.

The law still prohibits Vietnamese citizens sharing sleeping accommodation with Foreigners.

TeacherWin wrote:
-another time it appeared the police were accompanied by a woman looking for her cheating husband; it was clear she found him and a drama ensued. It puzzled me a bit why the woman was screaming more at the female occupant than at her own husband (who barely said a word but occasionally tried to prevent the woman from attacking his 'friend')

We never let unregistered people above ground level unless met, and escorted, by the registered guest. On one occasion in Hue, when I audited hotels, there was one hell of a commotion with chairs, etc., flying as the unescorted visitor found his wife in bed with a 'friend', after being allowed up on his own.

TeacherWin wrote:
Later when I asked some people at work about this, they told me the checks were probably related to the after-12-visitors-out rule, and maybe to catch some 'working girls'?

Most ladies of the night pre-pay their safe stays with Cong An before they sleep over.

When I first arrived in VN I stayed at the now over-priced, government owned, Huong Sen Hotel on Dong Khoi Street. To stop 'sleep walkers' as the staff called them, male staff were required to work extra shifts, without pay, trying to keep awake and sitting on couches on each floor.

The 'night sport' was to leave your room, dressed, creep down the stairs, exit the hotel through the garage (past another sleeping guard) then go around to the front door and tap the door to be let in.

The security manager always tried to figure out how we left the hotel without and entry in the log book!