Authorities in Sa Pa Town of Lao Cai Province in northern Vietnam imposed on New Year’s Day a fine of VND7 million (US$296) on the owner of a restaurant that had charged two tourists VND495,000 ($21) for a dish of pork.

Hoang Thi Vuong, head of the Culture and Information Office of Sa Pa Town, confirmed the penalty on Sunday afternoon, saying that the restaurant had not served meals in accordance with its price list.

The administrative fine came after tourist P.N. uploaded on her social media account a post regarding confusion over the cost of her recent meal with a friend at the mentioned restaurant.

The facility charged her a total of VND903,000 ($38), including VND398,000 ($17) for two dishes of fried rice and a fried chicken thigh, VND495,000 for a dish containing a few slices of wild boar meat, and VND10,000 a bottle of drinking water.

The People’s Committee of Sa Pa Town had functional forces immediately verify N.’s social media post and book the case.

During a working session with local authorities, the owner of the restaurant admitted to charging N. the VND903,000 amount as per her post.

The authorities thus fined the owner VND7 million for failure to sell goods or services in accordance with the listed price and had the restaurateur sign a commitment not to repeat the offense.

A famous tourist town in northern Vietnam, Sa Pa welcomed approximately 42,000 visitors in the ongoing New Year holiday that began on Saturday and lasts through Monday, up 270 percent from the same period in 2022, according to Vuong. 

Its tourism revenue is estimated at VND126 billion ($5.3 million) during this period, an increase of over VND80 billion ($3.38 million) compared to the 2022 New Year.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!