A Vietnamese singer has been fined for illegally building a resort in a residential area in the southern Vietnamese province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

The provincial Department of Transport on Thursday imposed a VND20 million (US$880) fine on Ho Quynh Huong, a Vietnamese pop-star, for unlawfully constructing the Dinh Bao Resort in Binh Chau Commune, Xuan Moc District.

Huong was also required to cease construction of the resort while authorities decide on how to proceed with the situation.

According to the People’s Committee in Binh Chau Commune, the Vietnamese singer previously purchased a two-hectare plot, which local authorities classified as a residential area.

Huong then began building a resort on a 3,000 square meter area of the plot, completing several of the would-be resort’s structures.

A corner of the Dinh Bao Resort owned by singer Ho Quynh Huong. Photo: Tuoi Tre

In order to legitimize the construction of a tourism facility, Huong would have had to first submit a proposal to alter the purpose of the land and then register for a building permit, Dang Thanh Minh, chairman of the administration in Xuan Moc District, stated, adding that the singer had not met any of the requirements.

Ho Quynh Tam, Huong’s manager, admitted that building the resort was a violation of the law, attributing the fault to a lack of knowledge regarding administrative procedures.

Tam quoted local construction workers as saying that a building permit is only required when the construction includes “solid structures," such as a house.

Therefore, they only sought permission for some “solid structures” to be built in a 500 square meter area within the plot, the manager elaborated.

“We have paid the fine and will carry out the necessary administrative procedures to receive a construction permit,” she added.

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