Authorities in Da Lat City under Lam Dong Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands requested the owner of an accommodation establishment remove a camera installed inside its dorm room, but did not impose any fines after hearing the latter’s explanation.

The culture and sports management division of Da Lat, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, inspected the T.B.H. accommodation establishment, located in Ward 3, last Friday following a report of a tourist on social media regarding the camera, according to the division’s head Le Anh Kiet.

The tourist uploaded a video in which she complained about her bad experiences at the establishment during her recent trip to Da Lat with friends, including having a camera mounted on the wall inside their dorm room.

During Friday’s inspection, the establishment owner explained to officers that the camera was publicly installed in a dorm room with a capacity of eight people at a position where guests store their belongings, separate from the bedroom area.

The installation of the cameras is not intended for bad purposes, but for the protection of visitors' property as the dorm room is often shared by strangers, the owner stated.

He added that no cameras are installed in private rooms.

The People’s Committee of Da Lat then concluded that there is not enough evidence to prove that the nature of the incident was a violation.

The authorities thus did not sanction the T.B.H. owner, but only asked him to remove the camera in question and find another way to prevent theft without compromising privacy.

Meanwhile, the owner also apologized to his guests for the camera installation and the inconveniences that they encountered. 

He added that he has removed the camera and will add a luggage locker in the dormitory room.

According to Vietnamese law, a hotelier can install cameras inside hotel rooms if they obtain the consent of the occupants in writing and are committed to using personal and private images in accordance with regulations.

If the owner of an accommodation facility arbitrarily installs a camera in the guest room or bathroom, it is considered an illegal act because it infringes on the privacy of citizens.

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