Police check in HCMC: Why?

Several Reasons!

1) A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC.

2) Several Foreigners have been reporting "cops taking their cash" to their embassies.

3) Foreigners are getting smart and using their cell phones to record interactions with officers.

The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners.

They might have just been doing their job.

You dont need a licence for 50cc.

Kurterino wrote:

I would love to get some opinions on this, especially from expats who have been here a while. The other day, a regular Monday morning around 10AM, I was riding in HCMC and got stopped by a couple of cops on a motorbike. It wasn't a checkpoint, nor were they waiting at the side of the road for someone to check out (from what I can tell), they were also driving and just decided to stop me and check my ID, drivers license and the bike's title. As it happens, I had just gotten back to Vietnam and picked up my bike from storage, and the people who store it for me couldn't find the title that day, so I didn't have it on me. Also, my passport was at home, and i had forgotten to carry a photocopy with me. I did have my Swiss driver's license, which is valid for the bike (50cc Honda 67). So once they had established that, they wished me a good day and let me go. No fine, no asking for money or we keep the bike, they just left.
Why would they stop me and not at least try to get a little coffee money? Does this make sense to anyone here?

I already had to pay a fine or coffee money several times (by car and motorbike).
But once by the motorbike when I was going too fast, the policemen let me go after they discussed it with each other.

jefJones wrote:

Several Reasons!

1) A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC.

2) Several Foreigners have been reporting "cops taking their cash" to their embassies.

3) Foreigners are getting smart and using their cell phones to record interactions with officers.

The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners.

Don't know where you get your information, but it's the complete opposite of the truth, especially your claim that "A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC."  and "The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners."

If those are hearsay, please do not pass them along as facts.  If you read about them somewhere, please quote the source, the directive number, date of issue, and the department that issued the document to back up your claim.

Here on this forum, we're trying hard to post the facts or share our true experience so other people can use them as guidelines.  We  do not make things up to muddle the water or create a false sense of security based on arrogance (To avoid foreigners!  What are we, God's right hand angels?)   

What you are doing is called trolling.  Please stop that.

Kurterino wrote:

they wished me a good day and let me go. No fine, no asking for money or we keep the bike, they just left.
Why would they stop me and not at least try to get a little coffee money? Does this make sense to anyone here?

It does. 

Here is the explanation, my culling and translation of the interview with and announcements by Lieutenant Đoàn Thanh Thanh Tâm of the Police Department, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Trọng Sơn, Deputy Head of PC08 Division, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Bình, Chief of Police Department's Road and Railway Traffic Police Division, and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Huỳnh Trung Phong, Head of City Road and Railway Traffic Police Department.   The interview and announcements dated the first week of August:

"For many years, the inspection and handling of foreigners violating traffic laws and regulations has been at the top of important topics in HCMC Traffic Police Department.  However, as there were very few traffic officers who knew foreign languages, the implementation had not been very successful.   

Until now.

HCMC Traffic Police Department has created a special unit consisted of many police officers who are fluent in foreign languages (English, Chinese and Japanese), civil, cultured, ingenious, adaptable, and flexible to communicate and handle foreigners who violate traffic laws.  From Aug 1 - Aug 15, the unit will propagate and disseminate road traffic laws to foreigners in the city.  Beginning Aug 16, all traffic violations by foreigners will be strictly punished according to the law.

During the first week of Aug, the unit have handled 24 violations, sanctioned 5 cases, reminded 10 cases of the regulations, and detained 14 vehicles.  Asides from those cases, many foreigners did not cooperate with the police.  When the officers spoke to the foreigners in their languages, many pretended to not understand, some responded in dialects or different languages to make things difficult to the officers.  Some foreigners left the motorbikes on the scene and left.

The majority of the violations are driving without safety helmets, no proper lightings, no driver's license, no vehicle registration, and no passport."

Ciambella wrote:

jefJones wrote:

Several Reasons!

1) A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC.

2) Several Foreigners have been reporting "cops taking their cash" to their embassies.

3) Foreigners are getting smart and using their cell phones to record interactions with officers.

The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners.

Don't know where you get your information, but it's the complete opposite of the truth, especially your claim that "A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC."  and "The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners."

If those are hearsay, please do not pass them along as facts.  If you read about them somewhere, please quote the source, the directive number, date of issue, and the department that issued the document to back up your claim.

Here on this forum, we're trying hard to post the facts or share our true experience so other people can use them as guidelines.  We  do not make things up to muddle the water or create a false sense of security based on arrogance (To avoid foreigners!  What are we, God's right hand angels?)   

What you are doing is called trolling.  Please stop that.

Kurterino wrote:

they wished me a good day and let me go. No fine, no asking for money or we keep the bike, they just left.
Why would they stop me and not at least try to get a little coffee money? Does this make sense to anyone here?

It does. 

Here is the explanation, my culling and translation of the interview with Lieutenant Đoàn Thanh Thanh Tâm of the Police Department, the official responses and announcements from Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Trọng Sơn, Deputy Head of PC08 Division, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Bình, Chief of Police Department's Road and Railway Traffic Police Division, and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Huỳnh Trung Phong, Head of City Road and Railway Traffic Police Department.   The interview and reports dated the first week of August:

"For many years, the inspection and handling of foreigners violating traffic laws and regulations has been at the top of important topics in HCMC Traffic Police Department. However, as there were very few traffic officers who knew foreign languages, the implementation had not been very successful.   

Until now.

HCMC Traffic Police Department has created a special unit consisted of many police officers who are fluent in foreign languages (English, Chinese and Japanese), civil, cultured, ingenious, adaptable, and flexible to communicate and handle foreigners who violate traffic laws.  From Aug 1 - Aug 15, the unit will propagate and disseminate road traffic laws to foreigners in the city.  Beginning Aug 16, all traffic violations by foreigners will be strictly punished according to the law.

During the first week of Aug, the unit have handled 24 violations, sanctioned 5 cases, reminded 10 cases of the regulations, and detained 14 vehicles.  Asides from those cases, many foreigners did not cooperate with the police.  When the officers spoke to the foreigners in their languages, many pretended to not understand, some responded in dialects or different languages to make things difficult to the officers.  Some foreigners left the motorbikes on the scene and left.

The majority of the violations are driving without safety helmets, no proper lightings, no driver's license, no vehicle registration, and no passport."

My Next door Neighbor is Cao Dang Hung ..... try again. While i would love to claim to "personally" know him well, I simply can't .... but I do get along well with his wife ( and not in that way... she is a great cook! ). PS: He was the one to issue the directive ( I think his position is 2nd from top in HCMC ).

jefJones wrote:

My Next door Neighbor is Cao Dang Hung ..... try again. While i would love to claim to "personally" know him well, I simply can't .... but I do get along well with his wife ( and not in that way... she is a great cook! ). PS: He was the one to issue the directive ( I think his position is 2nd from top in HCMC ).

Small world.  Cao Đăng Hưng is an old friend of our family, a relationship of more than 40 years.  I've never heard him mentioning the directive or anything similar to "avoid foreigners".  I haven't seen it, read it, known about it, while everything I wrote in the post was from the official and published articles.

jefJones wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

jefJones wrote:

Several Reasons!

1) A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC.

2) Several Foreigners have been reporting "cops taking their cash" to their embassies.

3) Foreigners are getting smart and using their cell phones to record interactions with officers.

The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners.

Don't know where you get your information, but it's the complete opposite of the truth, especially your claim that "A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC."  and "The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners."

If those are hearsay, please do not pass them along as facts.  If you read about them somewhere, please quote the source, the directive number, date of issue, and the department that issued the document to back up your claim.

Here on this forum, we're trying hard to post the facts or share our true experience so other people can use them as guidelines.  We  do not make things up to muddle the water or create a false sense of security based on arrogance (To avoid foreigners!  What are we, God's right hand angels?)   

What you are doing is called trolling.  Please stop that.

Kurterino wrote:

they wished me a good day and let me go. No fine, no asking for money or we keep the bike, they just left.
Why would they stop me and not at least try to get a little coffee money? Does this make sense to anyone here?

It does. 

Here is the explanation, my culling and translation of the interview with Lieutenant Đoàn Thanh Thanh Tâm of the Police Department, the official responses and announcements from Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Trọng Sơn, Deputy Head of PC08 Division, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Bình, Chief of Police Department's Road and Railway Traffic Police Division, and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Huỳnh Trung Phong, Head of City Road and Railway Traffic Police Department.   The interview and reports dated the first week of August:

"For many years, the inspection and handling of foreigners violating traffic laws and regulations has been at the top of important topics in HCMC Traffic Police Department. However, as there were very few traffic officers who knew foreign languages, the implementation had not been very successful.   

Until now.

HCMC Traffic Police Department has created a special unit consisted of many police officers who are fluent in foreign languages (English, Chinese and Japanese), civil, cultured, ingenious, adaptable, and flexible to communicate and handle foreigners who violate traffic laws.  From Aug 1 - Aug 15, the unit will propagate and disseminate road traffic laws to foreigners in the city.  Beginning Aug 16, all traffic violations by foreigners will be strictly punished according to the law.

During the first week of Aug, the unit have handled 24 violations, sanctioned 5 cases, reminded 10 cases of the regulations, and detained 14 vehicles.  Asides from those cases, many foreigners did not cooperate with the police.  When the officers spoke to the foreigners in their languages, many pretended to not understand, some responded in dialects or different languages to make things difficult to the officers.  Some foreigners left the motorbikes on the scene and left.

The majority of the violations are driving without safety helmets, no proper lightings, no driver's license, no vehicle registration, and no passport."

My Next door Neighbor is Cao Dang Hung ..... try again. While i would love to claim to "personally" know him well, I simply can't .... but I do get along well with his wife ( and not in that way... she is a great cook! ). PS: He was the one to issue the directive ( I think his position is 2nd from top in HCMC ).

If there was a directive as you say, then why did the police just have a crackdown on foreigners.

Unless you are fluent in Vietnamese, maybe you got confused and it was lost in translation with his wife.

colinoscapee wrote:

jefJones wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

jefJones wrote:

Several Reasons!

1) A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC.

2) Several Foreigners have been reporting "cops taking their cash" to their embassies.

3) Foreigners are getting smart and using their cell phones to record interactions with officers.

The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners.

Don't know where you get your information, but it's the complete opposite of the truth, especially your claim that "A directive was ordered last year for Officers to "Avoid foreigners" in HCMC."  and "The municipal police have many reasons to avoid foreigners."

If those are hearsay, please do not pass them along as facts.  If you read about them somewhere, please quote the source, the directive number, date of issue, and the department that issued the document to back up your claim.

Here on this forum, we're trying hard to post the facts or share our true experience so other people can use them as guidelines.  We  do not make things up to muddle the water or create a false sense of security based on arrogance (To avoid foreigners!  What are we, God's right hand angels?)   

What you are doing is called trolling.  Please stop that.



It does. 

Here is the explanation, my culling and translation of the interview with Lieutenant Đoàn Thanh Thanh Tâm of the Police Department, the official responses and announcements from Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Trọng Sơn, Deputy Head of PC08 Division, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Bình, Chief of Police Department's Road and Railway Traffic Police Division, and Senior Lieutenant Colonel Huỳnh Trung Phong, Head of City Road and Railway Traffic Police Department.   The interview and reports dated the first week of August:

"For many years, the inspection and handling of foreigners violating traffic laws and regulations has been at the top of important topics in HCMC Traffic Police Department. However, as there were very few traffic officers who knew foreign languages, the implementation had not been very successful.   

Until now.

HCMC Traffic Police Department has created a special unit consisted of many police officers who are fluent in foreign languages (English, Chinese and Japanese), civil, cultured, ingenious, adaptable, and flexible to communicate and handle foreigners who violate traffic laws.  From Aug 1 - Aug 15, the unit will propagate and disseminate road traffic laws to foreigners in the city.  Beginning Aug 16, all traffic violations by foreigners will be strictly punished according to the law.

During the first week of Aug, the unit have handled 24 violations, sanctioned 5 cases, reminded 10 cases of the regulations, and detained 14 vehicles.  Asides from those cases, many foreigners did not cooperate with the police.  When the officers spoke to the foreigners in their languages, many pretended to not understand, some responded in dialects or different languages to make things difficult to the officers.  Some foreigners left the motorbikes on the scene and left.

The majority of the violations are driving without safety helmets, no proper lightings, no driver's license, no vehicle registration, and no passport."

My Next door Neighbor is Cao Dang Hung ..... try again. While i would love to claim to "personally" know him well, I simply can't .... but I do get along well with his wife ( and not in that way... she is a great cook! ). PS: He was the one to issue the directive ( I think his position is 2nd from top in HCMC ).

If there was a directive as you say, then why did the police just have a crackdown on foreigners.

Unless you are fluent in Vietnamese, maybe you got confused and it was lost in translation with his wife.

He does not speak English well, she does ....

You mean a crackdown on Foreigners for ILLEGAL Activity?

I believe that in the past, cops really did not care about foreigners at all.

But it seems that they do now. They have also suspended many visas, so they are kind of cleaning the house.

Ciambella wrote:

jefJones wrote:

My Next door Neighbor is Cao Dang Hung ..... try again. While i would love to claim to "personally" know him well, I simply can't .... but I do get along well with his wife ( and not in that way... she is a great cook! ). PS: He was the one to issue the directive ( I think his position is 2nd from top in HCMC ).

Small world.  Cao Đăng Hưng is an old friend of our family, a relationship of more than 40 years.  Had not ever heard him mentioning the directive or anything similar to "avoid foreigners".  Had not seen it, read it, known about it, while everything I wrote in the post was from the official and published articles.

If so, then you can find me directly to the right of his front door .... stop in and say Hi ( I am josh by the way ).

francoa22 wrote:

I believe that in the past, cops really did not care about foreigners at all.

But it seems that they do now. They have also suspended many visas, so they are kind of cleaning the house.

Cracking down on ILLEGAL activity ... yes, sort of. All "paperwork" is being double checked now. I chalked it up to their new ID system that is now a year late on being nationally launched.

Kurterino wrote:

they wished me a good day and let me go. No fine, no asking for money or we keep the bike, they just left.
Why would they stop me and not at least try to get a little coffee money? Does this make sense to anyone here?
It does. 

Beginning Aug 16, all traffic violations by foreigners will be strictly punished according to the law.

During the first week of Aug, the unit have handled 24 violations, sanctioned 5 cases, reminded 10 cases of the regulations, and detained 14 vehicles.  Asides from those cases, many foreigners did not cooperate with the police.  When the officers spoke to the foreigners in their languages, many pretended to not understand, some responded in dialects or different languages to make things difficult to the officers.  Some foreigners left the motorbikes on the scene and left.

The majority of the violations are driving without safety helmets, no proper lightings, no driver's license, no vehicle registration, and no passport."

But I still don't get how it makes sense. While I was wearing my helmet and the bike was in proper working order, I didn't have my passport on me, nor the vehicle registration. I told them that my passport was at the hotel, but they could still have fined me for the registration. Why would they go through the trouble of stopping me and not give me a fine, if they could?

Because Expats are beginning to report events where "Police are taking money" .... Which is what foreigners SHOULD be doing in such events. ( Report to Embassy, NOT to local law enforcement )

Perhaps you just did not look like an easy sucker!

jefJones wrote:

Ciambella wrote:

jefJones wrote:

My Next door Neighbor is Cao Dang Hung ..... try again. While i would love to claim to "personally" know him well, I simply can't .... but I do get along well with his wife ( and not in that way... she is a great cook! ). PS: He was the one to issue the directive ( I think his position is 2nd from top in HCMC ).

Small world.  Cao Đăng Hưng is an old friend of our family, a relationship of more than 40 years.  Had not ever heard him mentioning the directive or anything similar to "avoid foreigners".  Had not seen it, read it, known about it, while everything I wrote in the post was from the official and published articles.

If so, then you can find me directly to the right of his front door .... stop in and say Hi ( I am josh by the way ).

Wow Josh you're on fire. Just joined the forum and already know more about Vietnamese law than many locals, and you're next door to the Prime Minister! Next time I check, I'll see you singing in Vietnamese on TV!

i wish i could sing ( White boys really can't dance or sing [ unless your count Pop Music]).... the only phrase i ever cared to learn was "Vu hoach Cut" .... strangely that really does work for boys with a white face.

And again, check my location .... Come see me.

foot note: How can that be a standard of locals awareness to legal statues? Walk the street and ask about local laws, I BET most will quote random laws that don't exist ( like the cohabitation law ).... Or better yet, ask any local to recite any random article from their own constitution.... Its not really a high standard to reach.

I have a go pro on my helmet, even though i am legal and never (knowingly) break the traffic law as soon as the cops see it they wave me past any stops

Sounds like a good way to avoid the law. Put a GoPro on your helmet. Haha

Deleted. Duplicate post

Kurterino wrote:

But I still don't get how it makes sense. While I was wearing my helmet and the bike was in proper working order, I didn't have my passport on me, nor the vehicle registration. I told them that my passport was at the hotel, but they could still have fined me for the registration. Why would they go through the trouble of stopping me and not give me a fine, if they could?

If it was during the first two weeks of the program, they wouldn't have given you a fine for minor infractions.  If it happened after those two weeks, the officers were to be flexible and to use their discretion as the situation allowed. 

You were being pulled over for a random check.  You wore a proper helmet, the bike was in working order, you had a Swiss DL, and you didn't violate traffic laws.  The only things missing were registration and passport.  I don't suppose there are many Swiss citizens overstaying their visas.  Chinese, now, that's another story altogether.

I'm guessing the officers used their discretion and let you go. 

In spite of what people say about VN, good things happened to me quite often so I'm not surprised at all reading your story.

Ciambella wrote:

You were being pulled over for a random check.  You wore a proper helmet, the bike was in working order, you had a Swiss DL, and you didn't violate traffic laws.  The only things missing were registration and passport.  I don't suppose there are many Swiss citizens overstaying their visas.  Chinese, now, that's another story altogether.

I'm guessing the officers used their discretion and let you go. 

In spite of what people say about VN, good things happened to me quite often so I'm not surprised at all reading your story.

Thanks! Yes, that makes sense. And while it was pretty obvious that I was a foreigner, they couldn't really tell (without pulling me over) which part of the world I was from, since I wore a ‘full' helmet. And maybe, as you say, once they had established that I'm from a country whose citizens aren't known for overstaying, they were satisfied.

I asked this in another thread but why do I see less foreigners on motorbikes now?

Is there still a crackdown. From what I gathered there was a big hoo ha when a Frenchman thought he was too cool to wear a helmet and began telling expats in facebook groups to stop complaining about others who don't wear helmets. This guy was in the newspaper a few dayS later with his face all mashed up. He was drunk and was not wearing a helmet. On top of this, he complained to his embassy about his hospital treatment and fees. Needless to say netizens were not impressed and there was supposedly a crackdown on foreigners after this.

I see a lot less foreigners on motorbikes now. Is it related?

Also, if a cop stops you on a 50cc what documents do you have to show. You don't need a license, so veichle registration and passport?

phikachu wrote:

I  This guy was in the newspaper a few dayS later with his face all mashed up. He was drunk and was not wearing a helmet.



Also, if a cop stops you on a 50cc what documents do you have to show. You don't need a license, so veichle registration and passport?

To be fair, the typical helmet worn by most people here won't protect one's face in an accident, so maybe he wouldn't have been better off, even if he had worn one. I only ride with a ‘full' helmet, bought in Europe. Yes it's hot inside, but I have to wear a helmet anyway, so at least it's going to do something if ever...

As for the required documents, if I'm not mistaken (and I could be wrong), you're required to have your passport on you anyway, even if you're not driving a vehicle, but since they know that the hotels keep their customer's passports in consignment, this rule doesn't seem to be enforced. I  usually keep a photocopy of the first page and the visa on me. And I didn't know that you can drive 50cc bikes without any driver's license, I thought you need at least a DL for cars (from your country). Anyone?

I have only been stopped in Northern Vietnam. Helmet related issues.

Never, ever has any cop (grrn or sand coloured uniform) asked me for a bribe. And the one time I offered it, it was rejected.

Some Vietnamese like to interact with foreigners. The other day, I had my hand shaken at the supermarket. For some, it seems to e a "dare" thing.

Perhaps the cops wanted to gain a new experience?