Tiếng Việt
Table of Contents
1. Legal regulations on discovering property that has been dropped or left behind by others
2. When can you own lost property
3. How will you deal with finding lost property and not returning it?
3.1 Administrative sanctions
3.2 Criminal prosecution
1. Legal regulations on discovering property that has been dropped or left behind by others.
According to Clause 1, Article 230 of the 2015 Civil Code, it is stipulated that:
“Article 230. Creation of ownership rights with respect to property which other persons have lost or mislaid
1. A person finding a property which another person has lost or mislaid and being aware of the address of the person having lost or mislaid the property must inform or return the property to such person. If [the finder] is not aware of the address of the person having lost or mislaid the object, it must inform or deliver the object to the people’s committee or police station of the nearest commune in order that a public announcement may be made notifying the owner to reclaim the property.
The people’s committee or police station of the commune which received the property must notify the finder of the results of their inquiries in order to determine the owner.”
Based on the above provisions, when picking up a lost or abandoned object, if the owner of that property can be identified, it must be returned to the owner. If there are no conditions to return the property directly or the owner cannot be identified, you need to hand it over to the nearest commune-level police agency for handling in accordance with the provisions of law.
2. When can you own lost property
According to Clause 2, Article 230 of the 2015 Civil Code, it is stipulated that:
“2. If, after one year from the date of the public announcement of the property which some other person has lost or mislaid, the owner of the object is still not able to be identified or the owner does not claim the property, the ownership rights with respect to such property shall be determined as follows:
(a) If the value of the lost or mislaid property is less than or equal to ten (10) times the basic wage rate provided by the State, the finder shall be permitted to create the ownership rights with respect to such property in accordance with this Code and other relevant laws. If the value of the property found is more than ten (10) times the basic wage rate provided by the State, after deducting costs of preservation, the finder shall be entitled to the value of ten (10) times the basic wage rate provided by the State plus fifty (50) per cent of the remaining value of the property in excess of ten (10) times the basic wage rate provided by the State, with the remaining value belonging to the State.
(b) A lost or mislaid property which belongs to an historic or cultural relic as provided in the Law on Cultural Relics shall belong to the State. The finder shall be entitled to a monetary reward in accordance with law.”
3. How will those who find lost property and do not return it be handled?
3.1 Administrative sanctions
Handling administrative violations of the act of illegally holding another person’s property as prescribed in Point dd, Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP:
“2. A fine of from VND 3.000.000 to VND 5.000.000 shall be imposed for any of the following violations:
dd) Using, buying, selling, mortgaging, illegally pledging or impounding property of another person;”
In addition, according to Clauses 3 and 4, Article 15 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP, additional penalties and remedial measures are stipulated:
“3. Additional penalties:
a) Confiscate the exhibits and means used for committing administrative violations specified in Points a,b,c and d Clauses 1 and Points a,b,c and dd Clause 2 of this Article.
b) Expel foreigners committing the administrative violations specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.
4. Remedial measures:
a) Enforced return of benefits illegally obtained from the commission of the violation in Points c, d and dd Clause 2 of this Article;”
b) Mandatory return of the illegally appropriated property in case of commission of the violations in Points dd and e Clause 2 of this Decree.”
c) Mandatory restoration of original condition in case of administrative violations specified in Point a Clause 2 of this Article.”
Thus, in the case of finding lost property and not returning it to another person, but not to the extent of criminal prosecution, the person will be subject to an administrative fine of VND 3-5 million and forced to return the property.
3.2 Criminal prosecution
Finding lost property and not returning it, intentionally keeping it with a value of VND 10,000,000 or more will be subject to criminal prosecution under Article 176 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017:
“Article 176. Illegal impoundment of property
1. Any person who finds or mistakenly receives a piece of property which is assessed at from VND 10,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000, a relic, an antique, an item of historical or cultural value but deliberately fails to return it to its legitimate owner or fails to submit it a competent authority after the owner or the competent authority requests the return or submission of such property as prescribed by law shall be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 02 years’ community sentence or 03 – 24 months’ imprisonment.
2. If the property obtained is assessed at VND 200,000,000 or over or national treasure, the offender shall face a penalty of 01 – 05 years’ imprisonment.”
In short, depending on the nature and the level of the incident where the person who picks up lost property but does not return it to the owner may be subject to administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution.