VietNamNet Bridge – When neighbors moved some furniture from their house, a woman in Tan Tru district of Long An province took photos of them and posted on her Facebook page with the caption "photos of thieves".

On May 12 the police of Tan Tru district said they had imposed administrative fine of VND7.5 million (over $300) on a local woman named Vo Thi My Phung for the behavior "diffusing and using false information to offend the honor, dignity and reputation of others".

Phung posted pictures of a woman named Nguyen Thi Diem Phuong, 38 years old, from HCM City on her Facebook page, captioning that Phuong was the thief who broke into the house of Phung’s neighbor.

On December 12, 2015, Phuong and her husband went to their notary office in Tan Tru District to take some personal belongings to HCM City.

At that time, Phung, who lives in the nearby house and did not know that Phuong and her husband are the owner of the notary office, saw the couple moving assets out of the house. She suspected the couple as thieves so she went to the local police station to report.

After receiving notice of Phuong, the police came to check and verify that Phuong and her husband are the house owner.

When the police came, Phung was not at home so she did not know about the police’s visit so she was upset and wrote on her Facebook as follows: "Announcement: on the night of December 12th 2015, from 7pm to 12pm a burglary case occurred at the Tan Tru Notary Office. As the office chief returned home during the weekend, the thief and accomplices removed all the furniture in the office during the night. The thieves are familiar. Could you get who they are? If you can, you will get a bonus."

The post was shared on Facebook by hundreds of people as a warning for the insecurity in Tan Tru District.

The next day, when Phuong and her husband returned to the notary office again to remove other furniture, Phung took photos and posted 6 photos on her Facebook, with the caption “Here are the thieves”. The photos were then shared and commented by hundreds of people. Some people posted the photos on public forums to “hunt the thieves”.

Upon knowing of the incident, Phuong contacted Phung to ask for her intervention but Phung did not reply.

Phuong went to the local police station to report the act of Phung.

The police investigated and identified that Phung’s acts were offensive to the honor and dignity of the people in the photos. Phung removed the photos from her Facebook.

Thu Ly