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Over the past two days, many Facebook accounts have been sharing a post from January 2nd by a user named Kugan Pillai, from Singapore. According to the post, Kugan Pillai arrived in Singapore from Hanoi on January 2nd. While going through immigration at Noi Bai Airport, a security officer left a handwritten note on his boarding pass that read "tip." At the time, the immigration officer was holding Kugan Pillai's passport. The passenger asked the officer "what for?" but "he just kept pointing to what he had written."
"I didn't know what to do or who to ask for help, and I was also rushing to prepare for my flight. In the end, I gave in to him by giving him 500,000 VND. I know this might be normal in countries like this, but I felt that I might have been arrested, as if my passport wouldn't be accepted if I didn't give him the money," Kugan Pillai shared in his post. Notably, Kugan Pillai stated that he had informed the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the incident.
Less than two days after being posted, the article received nearly 8,000 shares, over 10,000 likes, and hundreds of comments sharing similar experiences at other airports in Vietnam.
Contacted by reporters, a representative from Noi Bai International Airport stated that they are aware of the incident. However, all procedures related to security checks in the immigration area are the responsibility of the Immigration Management force (under the Ministry of Public Security), and the airport has no right to interfere. Therefore, Noi Bai Airport has forwarded the information to the directly supervising agency for handling.
The head of the Immigration Department stated that the unit has temporarily suspended the Noi Bai border gate officer involved to verify and clarify the allegations of soliciting tips. According to the unit, this action was taken after the Immigration Department received a report from the Noi Bai Border Gate Police. Immediately afterward, the agency issued directives to thoroughly investigate, clarify, and strictly handle the matter in accordance with industry regulations and the law.
Regarding the report from the recently suspended police officer, a representative from the Immigration Department stated that the matter is still under investigation and therefore no further information can be provided. However, the head of the Immigration Department pledged to take strict action against the officer if any wrongdoing is found.
Negative incidents at airports - a problem that's not new.
Below Kugan Pillai's post, there were many comments recounting similar situations where they had been extorted by customs officials.
Mai Phuong (25 years old), a student studying abroad, shared: "I've been studying in Japan for over 5 years, returned to Vietnam twice, and both times encountered difficulties with customs. The first time I returned, I was instructed to slip some money into my passport to make things smoother. I did that, but because I only slipped in a few small bills (1 USD bills), a customs officer told me to go to the back of the line. After that, I slipped in 5 USD and everything went smoothly."
It's clear that negative situations at airports have been a long-standing problem, yet no solution has been found. (Illustrative image)
Another group frequently targeted by customs officials for extortion is Vietnamese expatriates. Mr. Tran Minh (45 years old), a Vietnamese man living in the US, shared with Travellive: "Like many Vietnamese people abroad, I have a habit of bringing many gifts to relatives and friends. That's why I was asked for a tip by customs. I declared a pair of speakers and an amplifier worth less than $300 USD on the customs declaration form. The customs officer asked me to pay the tax and opened a thick notebook with thousands of words inside, flipping through it to find the page that specified the tax rate for my goods. He fumbled around for about 5 minutes, and after a moment's thought, I knew what he wanted. I put a $20 bill in the middle of the notebook, and he sat down and said, 'Okay, go ahead.' It was like he had just forgiven someone who had done something wrong. I gave him the money because my flight was delayed by almost 2 hours and my relatives were waiting outside. Back in the US, every time I think about it, I feel sad that this situation exists in Vietnam." This has been going on for a long time, and it's unknown when it will ever end.
It is evident that negative situations at airports have been a long-standing problem, yet there are still no sufficiently strong measures, sanctions, or recommendations to address and curb these disruptive behaviors.
