National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (standing) gives an opening speech at the meeting. — VNA/VNS Photo Trong Duc

During the meeting, participants asked the Government and the Ministry of Justice, which is in charge of drafting the law, to summarise and evaluate the changes more clearly.

Regarding the proposal to increase the maximum level of sanctions for administrative violations, many participants agreed with the Government’s proposal, but suggested reviewing each specific case and classifying them in groups.

Members of the NA Standing Committee said the Government should not base penalties on the average incomes of people who were subject to administrative penalties. Heavy penalties were needed to act as a deterrence, they added.

Recently, the Government issued Decree 100/2019/NĐ-CP with severe sanctions for drivers who consumed alcohol, and it has had an immediate effect.

Because of the severe penalties, many people are now considering whether or not it's worth taking the risk. As a result, the number of traffic accidents has plummeted. Thanks to this success, several embers suggested amending regulations to increase fines for sexual harassment, obscenity and violations related to environmental protection, hygiene and food safety.

Regarding two additional measures proposed by the Government, cutting off electricity and water supplies should be considered for environmental and construction violations.

On behalf of the drafting agency, Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long said that the ministry would complete the bill and submit it to the 14th NA during the 9th session.

The full-time legislators will also discuss the issuance of a decree guiding the implementation of the temporary admission mechanism under the terms of the Istanbul Convention during the NA Standing Committee's meeting.

Other issues to be debated include the preparations for Vietnam's ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Chairmanship 2020 and the rearrangement of administrative units at communal and district levels in six centrally-run cities and provinces, Ngan said.

Virus fight

Addressing the meeting earlier in the day, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said the Government had been proactively looking at ways to cope with the acute respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus.

The NA Standing Committee highly appreciated the sense of responsibility, dedication and drastic actions taken by the Government.

Ngan said the NA was always on hand to help the Government and political system fight epidemics, including avian flu A-H5N1, and would take effective measures to minimise the damage caused by them.— VNS

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