A man from Phu Quoc City, a popular island destination off Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, was fined VND1 million (US$41) for disposing of household garbage at an old airfield in Duong Dong Ward, a local official confirmed on Wednesday.

Aside from receiving an administrative fine, Tran Quoc V. was required to take remedial action to clean up the waste, said Tran My Hiep, chairwoman of the Duong Dong administration.

Tran Duy T., the owner of a business facility in Duong Dong, was also fined VND1 million for asking his employee, V., to get rid of the garbage.

Following their wrongdoings, both V. and T. promised to discard waste in the right place to help protect the environment on the island.

On Tuesday, security camera footage posted on a social media platform showed V. transporting the household garbage, including foam boxes and plastic bags, on a homemade vehicle with a trailer on the back for dumping at the airfield.

The video clip aroused widespread discontent among netizens who said his action would leave a negative impact on the environment and the landscape of the island city.

Early in December last year, the Phu Quoc administration teamed up with the World Wide Fund for Nature-Vietnam to launch a surveillance camera initiative in Duong Dong.

As per the initiative, six surveillance cameras were installed in key areas such as the old airfield, the new international airport, markets, and the Duong Dong River to deter improper disposal of household waste. 

Violators will face fines ranging from VND100,000 ($4) to VND2 million ($82) for leaving trash in unauthorized locations, and from VND2 million to VND1 billion ($40,922) for the illegal burial of solid waste.

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