A female scrap dealer in Ho Chi Minh City has found more than JPY5 million (US$48,900) in cash in an old loudspeaker that she purchased some day in late January.
Upon her discovery, hundreds of people flocked to her accommodation to demand a share, causing her to be so much frightened that she had to give the big sum of money to local police for her safety. House besieged after 'treasure' discovery
At some 3:00 pm on Friday, 34-year-old H.T.A.H., who is living with her husband in a rented room in an alley in Tan Binh District, dismantled the old loudspeaker, 20 cm long and 15 cm wide, in front of her place and found a small wooden box inside.
She opened the box out of curiosity and discovered a large number of JPY10,000 banknotes.
A few bills flew out and were collected by some people nearby. News that a scrap dealer had discovered a ‘treasure’ started traveling since.
At first, H. had no idea what the currency was so she gave some people around a few banknotes each that they repeatedly begged for.
However, an increasing number of people rushed to besiege her room afterwards. Some managed to snatch many banknotes from the scrap dealer and others even threatened to beat the woman if she did not agree to share her luck with them.
The chaotic scene lasted from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm the same day and even turned more uncontrollable after that when many strange men who looked like gangsters showed up and came close to the dealer to demand part of the money.
“There were crowds of people then. They jostled one another to get some bills so my husband and I could not even breathe,” H. recounted.
Who legally possesses the money?
Some people witnessing the chaos called local police who arrived at H.’s place shortly. The throngs only dispersed one hour after the scrap dealer went to a local police station where she was encouraged to hand over the Japanese currency.
“I handed over all the money I found to them after receiving explanations from the police. I’ll abide by any decision they will make,” H. told Tuoi Tre.
Major Nguyen Quang Vinh, a vice police chief, confirmed that they have received 520 JPY banknotes from the scrap dealer.
Vinh added they are temporarily keeping this sum of money while waiting for an official order from higher authorities.
A senior police officer in District 1, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said police in Tan Binh was right to hold the money.
According to the officer, local police will investigate the origin of the cash as well as who owns it, and will return the money to whoever can justify their ownership.
He said the female scrap dealer will not be accused of illegally withholding the money because H. volunteered to give it up to police.
The officer added that if the money is proven to be the property of a foreigner, Vietnamese authorities will return it to its owner in accordance with the judicial cooperation between Vietnam and that country.
The police officer claimed that the scrap dealer is not the legal owner of the money because she only bought scrap material, which is the loudspeaker in this case, not the valuable things inside which are the banknotes.
However, lawyer Huynh Van Nong from the Lawyers Association of Ho Chi Minh City, said the money belongs to H. because the cash had been stashed in the loudspeaker which was then purchased by the scrap dealer.
Nong added that the money H. found cannot be considered a dropped property or an illegal possession acquired as a result of a crime.
According to the lawyer, the dealer is only responsible for returning or handing over what she came across in the loudspeaker if they are drugs or illicit items.
VIETNAMESE CIVIL CODE Article 187: The right to possession of property which has been let drop on the ground, left over out of inadvertence, buried or sunken, and property the owners of which are unidentifiable 1. A person who discovers a property which has been let drop on the ground, left over out of inadvertence, buried or sunken must immediately notify or return it to the owner; if the owner is unknown, such person must notify or hand over the property to the People’s Committee of the commune, ward or township or the nearest police station or another competent state agency in accordance with the provisions of law. A person who discovers a property the owner of which cannot be identified, or a property which has been let drop on the ground, left over out of inadvertence, buried or sunken shall be entitled to possess such property from the time of discovery to the time the property is returned to its owner or handed over to a competent state agency. 2. With respect to a property which has been dispersed by another person in order to hide an act of violation of law or to evade the performance of a civil obligation, the person who discovers it must forthwith notify or hand over the property to a competent state agency defined in Clause 1 of this Article. (Source: Ministry of Justice’s portal) |
Đăng ký: VietNam News