The authorities are gathering opinions for the draft amended Criminal Law which proposes a 12-year prison sentence and VND500m (VND24,000) fine for those caught deliberately spreading nails on roads.

A motorbike driver got a flat tire while running on a nail on Binh Duong Highway

It has become a notoriously common incident to see nails and sharp metal pieces deliberately dropped on roads to damage vehicles and force drivers to use conveniently situated repair services.

According to police, it's difficult to deal with such cases. In June, a couple was caught red-handed while dropping sharp metal pieces onto the road in HCM City. However, the police can't prove that the motorbikes were explicitly damaged by the pieces the couple had thrown. The couple was fined just VND6m and made to publicly apologise.

Nguyen Van Dung, deputy director of the Department of Criminal and Administrative Law, said due to the increasing number of incidents, they had decided to amend the criminal law for more immediate and stricter punishment.

The amended law stated that who purposely drop sharp items onto the road will be fined from VND30m to VND100m, or face 3 months non-custodial reform to 3 years of imprisonment.

Those found to have committed the crime more than once or have dropped sharp items at dangerous locations such as highways, sloped roads, or mountain passes will face VND100m-500m fine and two to 12 years of imprisonment. 

Dtinews