The Ministry of Science and Technology has ordered an investigation into chaotic scenes where staff and members of the public were recorded taking away fake fashion products which were earmarked for destruction.

Police and inspectors of the Ministry of Science and Technology destroyed fake products on October 21

At a meeting held by the ministry on Monday, Minister Chu Ngoc Anh asked the ministry's inspectors and agencies responsible for the destruction of the fake products to provide an explanation for what happened.

The agencies responsible for destroying the products will need to explain the process and shortcomings. They will also have to make a list of people who took the goods and ask them to return the products by midnight October 25, said the minister.

After having the report, the ministry will strictly punish those that violated the law.

On October 21, the ministry's inspectors and the Hanoi Police Department for Economic Management seized up to 2,349 fake fashion products.

The products included 726 bags; 1,057 wallets; 39 belts; 6 watches, 19 bracelets, and 290 logos which imitated international famous brands like Dior, Hermes and Louis Vuitton.

The media was also informed and came to report about the event.

However, a video clip showed people taking the fake goods which then spread on various social websites.

In an interview with the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City Newspaper, head of the ministry's inspector department, Tran Minh Dung, admitted that there were chaos at the event, but claimed that this was the first time such an incident happened.

"We were making an announcement about the destruction of the goods, but many people including reporters, the ministry's staff and others started to jump in to take the as yet undestroyed goods," Dung explained. "We didn’t expect that to happen and so couldn’t stop it. We'll need to have security staff at future events."

Earlier, inspectors of the ministry and the Hanoi police said they destroyed more than 1,200 fake fashion products which imitated the design of Singaporean brands like Charles & Keith and Pedro.

In the first nine months of this year, inspection units detected 48 violations mainly related to invention, industrial designs, trademarks, and brand names reaching VND1.4 billion (USD6,666) in fines.

Dtinews