As Decree 167/2013, which takes effect on Dec 28, doesn’t stipulate fines for public nudity, many wonder if violators will get off without punishment.

This question has been raised after several youths made and released versions of the music clip “Anh khong doi qua” (I don’t want my gifts back), and authorities are beginning to look into the cases. In each of the clips, a sexy young girl walks down the street, taking off her accessories one by one until she is almost naked, wearing only a pair of underwear.

Around eight such clips were made in provinces including Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ba Ria Vung Tau, and Khanh Hoa, and have recently gone viral on the Internet. A junior version made in Buon Ma Thuot in Dac Lac province in which a little girl strips off her clothes on the street was also released.

The clips were inspired by a video a girl in Hanoi made and posted on Facebook in mid November. It shows a man, sent to her house by her rich ex-boyfriend, listing all the gifts she was given by her ex during their time together. The man demands that she gives them all back.

On December 17, the Cai Rang district police in southern Can Tho City reported that they will fine the seven young girls who made the clips for disrupting a civilized lifestyle, and will notify their families and local officials of the violations to prevent them from committing similar offenses in the future.

However, the fines have yet to be imposed.

Binh Thuan province’s People’s Committee also recently instructed its Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism to look into two such clips made in Phan Thiet to see if the participants have infringed on the law.

To fine or not to fine?

According to Article 10 in Decree 73/2010, which stipulates penalties of administrative violations on social security and order, the fine for nudity in public places varies from VND60,000 to 100,000 (up to US$5).

However, the term specifies that fines should only be imposed when one is nude in crowded places where people gather for a particular purpose, at cultural or religious edifices, or at state agencies. As the clips were filmed on empty streets, the youths can’t be fined. Even if the clips were filmed on crowded streets, they could avoid being fined, as streets don’t fit the specifications of the term.

The above-mentioned Decree 73/2010 will become invalid tomorrow, Dec 28. Meanwhile, the superseding Decree 167/2013, which will take effect tomorrow, excludes altogether the term on fines for public nudity.

However, in an interview with Thanh Nien newspaper on Dec 18, Pham Xuan Phuc of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said that the case should be handled based on Decree 75/2010, which stipulates penalties on administrative violations in cultural and performance activities.

He elaborated that although the youths filmed the clips unprofessionally, they were still engaging in a performance and thus can be fined for wearing culturally inappropriate costumes. The fine for the offence varies from VND2 million to 5 million (up to US$236).

The lingering question is whether people will be fined if they strip or display nudity on the street not for performing purposes. Some men in Vietnam are habitually naked in the upper part while they're travelling in their neighborhood or even on the street.