Feature: Vietnamese pawnshops laugh, gamblers cry after World Cup
Source: Xinhua   2018-07-17 23:19:34

by Tao Jun, Bui Long

HANOI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- On Monday, hours after France beat Croatia 4-2 to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup champion's trophy, Lang Road in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi, which houses numerous pawnshops, seemed busier than usual.

A young man dillydallied about either going to the pawnshop at 476 Lang Road or the adjacent pawnshop at 480. Finally, he entered the shop at 480 Lang Road which is full of motorbikes.

"This is the first time I have been to a pawnshop. I chose this shop because it is more crowded, which means the shop has good policies for customers such as easier procedures and lower interest rates," the young man, Nguyen Thanh Nam, a student at the Hanoi Architectural University, told Xinhua on Monday.

After five minutes, Nam received 7 million Vietnamese dong (300 U.S. dollars) after pawning a fairly new Macbook Air 13" and a student card.

"If his Macbook Air were brand-new, which would cost around 24 million Vietnamese dong (1,050 U.S. dollars), I would value it at only half of that. Normally, we offer loans of between 1-3 million Vietnamese dong (44-132 U.S. dollars) for a student card, but over the past few days, too many students have pawned their cards, so we have halved the loans now," the pawnbroker told Xinhua after the student left.

In addition to laptops and smartphones, motorbikes are another common item to pawn. According to a young staff member at another pawnshop on Lang Road, after the quarterfinals of the World Cup, his shop was rammed with pawned items, mostly motorbikes and sport bicycles, so they had to place them in a parking lot of a nearby tenement.

"During the World Cup, customers coming here have increased three or four-fold compared to normal days," the staff member said.

During the World Cup, pawnshops have received not only first-time customers but also loyal ones.

Nguyen Huu Diep, a 34-year-old owner of a small pavement restaurant in Hanoi's Thanh Tri rural district, has frequented pawnshops since the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

In 2016, after pawning all his valuable items and then selling his three-story building to pay his debt to loan sharks who hired some jailbirds to threaten his family, Diep still pinned his hopes on betting on the 2018 FIFA World Cup to "recoup his investment," his wife, Bui Thu Cuc, told Xinhua.

According to her, Diep won his bet on the final match on Sunday, but lost on almost all the other games during the football tournament.

"Two years ago, we lost our house due to his addiction to betting, but he still ignores my pleas for him to give up the addiction. I can't stand him any more. I have filed for a divorce," she said softly but determinedly.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the situation is similar. Pawnshops have mushroomed during the 2018 World Cup and besides the "traditional" pawnshops, some shops have been established and operated just during the football tournaments to serve local gamblers.

Some new pawnshops have been operating without offices or permanent addresses and their staff have distributed leaflets with one or two mobile phone numbers and interest rates printed on them in cafes in the districts of Phu Nhuan and Binh Thanh.

In both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, many pawnshops have recently been offering daily interest rates of 3,000-5,000 Vietnamese dong (13-22 U.S. cents) for a loan of 1 million Vietnamese dong (44 U.S. dollars). Before the World Cup, they often offered rates of 1,000-2,000 Vietnamese dong (4-8 U.S. cents).

The rates of 3,000-5,000 Vietnamese dong per 1 million per day is equivalent to 0.3-0.5 percent per day, or 9-15 percent per month, or 110-180 percent a year.

"Such rates are 5-9 times higher than the permissible levels stipulated in the Civil Code," local lawyer Ha Huy Phong said, noting that if they repeatedly violate the code, loan sharks can be fined up to 200 million Vietnamese dong (8,800 U.S. dollars) or get a suspended sentence of up to three years.

Not only loan sharks, but also bookmakers and gamblers face fines, suspension of licences or prison sentences.

On July 14, Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam instructed police forces of all departments and localities nationwide to intensify the prevention of crime and combat criminals, including gamblers and drug addicts.

According to the instruction, during the 2018 World Cup, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people have participated in online gambling and football betting rings with total bets worth trillions of Vietnamese dong (dozens of millions of U.S. dollars). Most gamblers have incurred losses.

On July 7, the police raided many homes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and southern Dong Nai province, detained several local people, and seized relevant documents, three cars, and over 10 billion Vietnamese dong (440,000 U.S. dollars) and 21,000 U.S. dollars in cash and deposit books.

The detainees have been accused of running or gambling on an illegal betting website with its servers being located in the Philippines.

Since 2015, thousands of Vietnamese people have opened bank accounts with combined deposits of 2,000 billion Vietnamese dong (88 million U.S. dollars) to make bets through the website.

On July 12, Vietnamese police raided numerous gambling dens in the city, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong and some other southern provinces, and detained nine members of an online football betting ring, including the ringleader, Nguyen Van Binh, from the northern Bac Giang province.

According to initial investigations, Binh has been operating the illegal football betting ring since 2018, and during the FIFA World Cup, his ring lured many local gamblers who made bets totaling hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars on a single match.

Also, on July 12, police in the central Thanh Hoa province busted two illegal football betting rings with total transactions worth 64 billion Vietnamese dong (2.8 million U.S. dollars). During the World Cup, local gamblers sometimes made bets of more than 1.5 billion Vietnamese dong (66,000 U.S. dollars) on a single football match.

On July 14, central Thua Thien Hue province's police uncovered a football betting ring, detained 23 people, and confiscated cash of more than 20 million Vietnamese dong (5,200 U.S. dollars).

"Because both bookmakers and gamblers are subject to heavy fines and the possibility of heavy prison sentences, they tend to try and bribe police officers when they are caught red-handed," police officer Binh at the Ha Dong Police Bureau, Hanoi Police Department, told Xinhua, adding that in such cases bookmakers and gamblers are additionally accused of bribery.

Currently, all forms of gambling, including on sports, except in government licensed casinos, are illegal in Vietnam. Anyone found to be in violation of the law is subject to heavy fines and a potentially severe prison sentence.

According to Vietnam's Penal Code, gamblers who place a bet of at least 2 million Vietnamese dong (about 88 U.S. dollars), and bookmakers whose ring has at least 10 involved people will be indicted for criminal offenses.

If a bet is below 50 million Vietnamese dong (about 2,200 U.S. dollars), the gambler will be fined 5-50 million Vietnamese dong (216-2,167 U.S. dollars) and possibly given a jail sentence ranging from three months to three years.

If a bet placed is more than 50 million Vietnamese dong, the perpetrator will be put behind bars for between two to seven years.

Editor: Yurou
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Feature: Vietnamese pawnshops laugh, gamblers cry after World Cup

Source: Xinhua 2018-07-17 23:19:34
[Editor: huaxia]

by Tao Jun, Bui Long

HANOI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- On Monday, hours after France beat Croatia 4-2 to win the 2018 FIFA World Cup champion's trophy, Lang Road in Vietnam's capital city of Hanoi, which houses numerous pawnshops, seemed busier than usual.

A young man dillydallied about either going to the pawnshop at 476 Lang Road or the adjacent pawnshop at 480. Finally, he entered the shop at 480 Lang Road which is full of motorbikes.

"This is the first time I have been to a pawnshop. I chose this shop because it is more crowded, which means the shop has good policies for customers such as easier procedures and lower interest rates," the young man, Nguyen Thanh Nam, a student at the Hanoi Architectural University, told Xinhua on Monday.

After five minutes, Nam received 7 million Vietnamese dong (300 U.S. dollars) after pawning a fairly new Macbook Air 13" and a student card.

"If his Macbook Air were brand-new, which would cost around 24 million Vietnamese dong (1,050 U.S. dollars), I would value it at only half of that. Normally, we offer loans of between 1-3 million Vietnamese dong (44-132 U.S. dollars) for a student card, but over the past few days, too many students have pawned their cards, so we have halved the loans now," the pawnbroker told Xinhua after the student left.

In addition to laptops and smartphones, motorbikes are another common item to pawn. According to a young staff member at another pawnshop on Lang Road, after the quarterfinals of the World Cup, his shop was rammed with pawned items, mostly motorbikes and sport bicycles, so they had to place them in a parking lot of a nearby tenement.

"During the World Cup, customers coming here have increased three or four-fold compared to normal days," the staff member said.

During the World Cup, pawnshops have received not only first-time customers but also loyal ones.

Nguyen Huu Diep, a 34-year-old owner of a small pavement restaurant in Hanoi's Thanh Tri rural district, has frequented pawnshops since the 2016 UEFA European Championship.

In 2016, after pawning all his valuable items and then selling his three-story building to pay his debt to loan sharks who hired some jailbirds to threaten his family, Diep still pinned his hopes on betting on the 2018 FIFA World Cup to "recoup his investment," his wife, Bui Thu Cuc, told Xinhua.

According to her, Diep won his bet on the final match on Sunday, but lost on almost all the other games during the football tournament.

"Two years ago, we lost our house due to his addiction to betting, but he still ignores my pleas for him to give up the addiction. I can't stand him any more. I have filed for a divorce," she said softly but determinedly.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the situation is similar. Pawnshops have mushroomed during the 2018 World Cup and besides the "traditional" pawnshops, some shops have been established and operated just during the football tournaments to serve local gamblers.

Some new pawnshops have been operating without offices or permanent addresses and their staff have distributed leaflets with one or two mobile phone numbers and interest rates printed on them in cafes in the districts of Phu Nhuan and Binh Thanh.

In both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, many pawnshops have recently been offering daily interest rates of 3,000-5,000 Vietnamese dong (13-22 U.S. cents) for a loan of 1 million Vietnamese dong (44 U.S. dollars). Before the World Cup, they often offered rates of 1,000-2,000 Vietnamese dong (4-8 U.S. cents).

The rates of 3,000-5,000 Vietnamese dong per 1 million per day is equivalent to 0.3-0.5 percent per day, or 9-15 percent per month, or 110-180 percent a year.

"Such rates are 5-9 times higher than the permissible levels stipulated in the Civil Code," local lawyer Ha Huy Phong said, noting that if they repeatedly violate the code, loan sharks can be fined up to 200 million Vietnamese dong (8,800 U.S. dollars) or get a suspended sentence of up to three years.

Not only loan sharks, but also bookmakers and gamblers face fines, suspension of licences or prison sentences.

On July 14, Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam instructed police forces of all departments and localities nationwide to intensify the prevention of crime and combat criminals, including gamblers and drug addicts.

According to the instruction, during the 2018 World Cup, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people have participated in online gambling and football betting rings with total bets worth trillions of Vietnamese dong (dozens of millions of U.S. dollars). Most gamblers have incurred losses.

On July 7, the police raided many homes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and southern Dong Nai province, detained several local people, and seized relevant documents, three cars, and over 10 billion Vietnamese dong (440,000 U.S. dollars) and 21,000 U.S. dollars in cash and deposit books.

The detainees have been accused of running or gambling on an illegal betting website with its servers being located in the Philippines.

Since 2015, thousands of Vietnamese people have opened bank accounts with combined deposits of 2,000 billion Vietnamese dong (88 million U.S. dollars) to make bets through the website.

On July 12, Vietnamese police raided numerous gambling dens in the city, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong and some other southern provinces, and detained nine members of an online football betting ring, including the ringleader, Nguyen Van Binh, from the northern Bac Giang province.

According to initial investigations, Binh has been operating the illegal football betting ring since 2018, and during the FIFA World Cup, his ring lured many local gamblers who made bets totaling hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars on a single match.

Also, on July 12, police in the central Thanh Hoa province busted two illegal football betting rings with total transactions worth 64 billion Vietnamese dong (2.8 million U.S. dollars). During the World Cup, local gamblers sometimes made bets of more than 1.5 billion Vietnamese dong (66,000 U.S. dollars) on a single football match.

On July 14, central Thua Thien Hue province's police uncovered a football betting ring, detained 23 people, and confiscated cash of more than 20 million Vietnamese dong (5,200 U.S. dollars).

"Because both bookmakers and gamblers are subject to heavy fines and the possibility of heavy prison sentences, they tend to try and bribe police officers when they are caught red-handed," police officer Binh at the Ha Dong Police Bureau, Hanoi Police Department, told Xinhua, adding that in such cases bookmakers and gamblers are additionally accused of bribery.

Currently, all forms of gambling, including on sports, except in government licensed casinos, are illegal in Vietnam. Anyone found to be in violation of the law is subject to heavy fines and a potentially severe prison sentence.

According to Vietnam's Penal Code, gamblers who place a bet of at least 2 million Vietnamese dong (about 88 U.S. dollars), and bookmakers whose ring has at least 10 involved people will be indicted for criminal offenses.

If a bet is below 50 million Vietnamese dong (about 2,200 U.S. dollars), the gambler will be fined 5-50 million Vietnamese dong (216-2,167 U.S. dollars) and possibly given a jail sentence ranging from three months to three years.

If a bet placed is more than 50 million Vietnamese dong, the perpetrator will be put behind bars for between two to seven years.

[Editor: huaxia]
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