Vietnam Insider

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have charged eleven people for staging a fake funeral procession in front of Ben Thanh Market as part of a TikTok publicity stunt designed to boost sales for an online clothing shop.

Prosecutors say the group hired mourners, painted a coffin black, and marched it through downtown streets to create a shocking scene that would attract views on social media. The video quickly spread on TikTok, but the stunt triggered strong public backlash and a criminal investigation.

The case centers on Ho Ngoc Tuan, who created a TikTok account called Never GG in early 2024 to sell clothing online. Investigators say Tuan struggled to build an audience, so he turned to more extreme content. After connecting with Nguyen Van Quyet and his wife, the group began searching for ways to generate viral attention.

According to the indictment, Tuan bought a coffin for about three and a half million dong from a funeral supplier and hired workers to repaint it black. He then paid five people from the funeral service to dress in black, cover their heads, and carry the coffin while he filmed.

The group first recorded at a studio, then decided to film again at a more dramatic location. On February 25, the hired carriers walked the coffin along Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street and later moved the stunt to the busy entrance of Ben Thanh Market, one of Ho Chi Minh City’s most visited landmarks.

The final video showed four people carrying the black coffin marked with white letters reading Never GG and Die Everyday as they walked through traffic. After filming, the group loaded the coffin into a car and left the scene.

Tuan later edited the footage into a promotional video and posted it on TikTok, where it gained thousands of views, comments, and shares.

Police identified everyone involved and summoned them for questioning. The group, including the funeral home owner, several employees, and a photographer, now face charges of disturbing public order.

Prosecutors say the stunt caused fear, confusion, and disruption in a crowded tourist area and reflected a growing trend of dangerous content created solely for online engagement.

Hanoi is preparing one of the most ambitious urban transport transitions in Southeast Asia as the city moves toward banning gas powered motorbikes in core districts during selected hours. The proposal marks a major step in creating low emission zones as air pollution continues to threaten public health and investor confidence.

A new draft resolution sent to the Hanoi People Council outlines the first legally defined low emission zones under the Capital Law 2024. These zones are areas where the city can restrict vehicles that generate high levels of pollution.

The plan focuses on districts inside Ring Road 1 where congestion and poor air quality are most severe. Starting July 1 in 2026, Hanoi will pilot a low emission zone in nine inner districts including Hoan Kiem, Ba Dinh, Hai Ba Trung, and parts of Dong Da and Tay Ho.

The restrictions expand in stages. From January 1 in 2028, low emission rules will apply across all of Ring Road 1 and selected areas inside Ring Road 2. By January 1 in 2030, the zones will cover the entire area inside Ring Road 3 including thirty six wards and communes across central Hanoi.

Within these areas the city plans to restrict or ban gas powered motorbikes during specific hours and in selected neighborhoods. Motorbikes used for ride hailing and delivery will face tighter limits. Cars that fail to meet Euro 4 equivalent emission standards will also face time based entry restrictions.

The draft goes further. Hanoi will require all motorbike based transport businesses to begin their green transition before 2030. From July 1 in 2026, all new taxis must use clean energy vehicles.

The plan allows gradual implementation rather than a full time ban, which had been proposed in a previous national directive. City authorities said the change came after strong feedback from industry groups, Japanese investors, motorbike manufacturers, and local communities. Concerns centered on infrastructure readiness, social impact, and the lack of a unified national standard for public charging stations.

Hanoi officials noted that the transition is challenging and urgent. Multiple agencies are still developing policies for green mobility and charging networks. The city stressed that public communication and phased implementation will be essential to change commuter behavior in a city where almost seven million motorbikes are registered and another one million arrive daily from surrounding provinces.

Air pollution remains one of Hanoi’s most persistent problems. National environment reports show annual PM2.5 levels in the city are close to double the national standard. Emissions from road traffic account for an estimated fifty eight to seventy four percent of air pollution.

The low emission proposal will be debated at the city council session from November 26 to 28. If approved, Hanoi will become one of the first major cities in ASEAN to adopt a formal schedule for restricting fossil fuel powered motorbikes, a move that could reshape daily life and urban mobility for the capital’s more than eight million residents.

A fast forming tropical system in the Philippines has triggered heavy rainfall, school closures, and the evacuation of riverside communities, raising concerns that a new storm could move toward the South China Sea and approach Vietnam in the coming days.

The Philippine weather bureau PAGASA reported on November 24 that Tropical Depression Verbena was delivering widespread moderate to heavy rain across the Caraga region. Local authorities halted sea transport, suspended classes, and activated emergency response teams as flooding risks increased.

Verbena was located about 330 kilometers east of Surigao City on Sunday morning with sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour and gusts reaching 55 kilometers per hour. Forecast models show the system moving west northwest and strengthening into a tropical storm within about thirty six hours, according to Gulf News.

Coastal and island provinces including Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte, the northern part of Surigao del Sur, and Agusan del Norte were placed under the first level of the national storm warning system. Disaster management offices elevated alert levels and advised communities to prepare for possible flash floods and landslides.

The Philippine Coast Guard temporarily suspended most sea travel to ensure passenger safety. Larger roll on roll off cargo vessels above three hundred tons are allowed to operate only after a twelve hour delay and without passengers except cargo drivers.

Schools in several affected provinces announced immediate closures. In Agusan del Norte, provincial offices also paused operations, with rescue units ordered to remain on duty.

Evacuations began early on November 24 for families living along the Cotcot River in Liloan, Cebu province. Local officials said more than one hundred thirty people, including children, had been moved to safer shelters as water levels rose.

Authorities continue to urge residents, especially those in coastal and low lying areas, to monitor official updates closely as Verbena advances toward the South China Sea. The system could strengthen further as it approaches the region between the Philippines and Vietnam, an area that has already seen multiple storms this season.

A security guard at a well-known seafood restaurant in Can Tho was fatally stabbed by a colleague in a shocking workplace incident, authorities said. The case has raised questions about staff training and workplace safety at busy dining establishments in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

The Can Tho Police Department confirmed on November 21 that 29-year-old Duong Thanh Lap, a security guard residing in An Binh ward, was detained after allegedly stabbing 18-year-old co-worker M.H.K. during a dispute over managing customer vehicles at the restaurant on Tran Hoang Na Street, Tan An Ward.

Security footage from the restaurant captured the attack. The injured guard was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his wounds the following morning. Police quickly responded to the scene, apprehending Lap, who reportedly admitted to the stabbing during initial questioning.

Incidents like this highlight safety challenges in high-traffic restaurants popular with locals and tourists alike. Can Tho, a key city in the Mekong Delta known for its floating markets and riverside dining, has seen rapid growth in hospitality and tourism, putting pressure on staffing and operational management.

Authorities continue to investigate the case, which has sent ripples through the city’s restaurant industry and raised awareness about security and conflict prevention in Vietnam’s bustling dining scene.

A 21-year-old woman in Can Tho was rushed to hospital in critical condition after being stabbed in the abdomen while selling bread at a local market. She was 36 weeks pregnant. Doctors performed an emergency cesarean section to save both her and her unborn child.

The attack occurred on the morning of 21 November at Phong Dien Market. Security footage shows a man, later identified as 23-year-old Ngo Hoang Phuong, approaching the vendor and stabbing her before fleeing. The victim’s husband and nearby vendors quickly intervened and helped detain Phuong until police arrived.

Authorities say Phuong has a criminal record, including two previous convictions for intentional injury, and had recently been released from prison in March. During questioning, he admitted that personal family issues motivated him to buy a knife and target the pregnant woman.

The mother was immediately taken to Can Tho Central General Hospital in shock and severe blood loss. Doctors stabilized her condition, performed the cesarean delivery, and treated her abdominal wound. The baby is now in the hospital’s neonatal unit under observation.

Police are holding Phuong for investigation. The case has shocked the local community, raising concerns about public safety in crowded markets.

This incident highlights both the risks faced by women in public spaces and the critical role of rapid medical response in saving lives during violent attacks.

Experts in Vietnam are raising concerns about how hydropower reservoirs are operated after a series of sudden water releases caused severe flooding in downstream communities during recent storms in central Vietnam. They say the problem does not come from extreme weather alone. It also comes from structural conflicts of interest, rigid operating rules, and large legal gaps in dam safety management.

Nguyen Quoc Dung, a leading water resources expert and Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Committee on Large Dams, says many hydropower reservoirs are operated at half full levels during storms. When heavy rain arrives faster than expected, operators are forced to release large volumes of water in a short time. This creates sudden surges that hit downstream areas with little warning.

He notes that many reservoirs have very limited flood control capacity. Some hold up to eight hundred million cubic meters of water but allocate less than ten percent of that volume for flood regulation. Operators want to keep water levels high to ensure power generation. Lowering the reservoir too early risks losing revenue if the expected rain does not arrive.

This creates hesitation. When state agencies issue broad or unclear instructions, such as asking a plant to release between zero and five thousand cubic meters per second, operators may release only a small amount at first. When water rises quickly late in the day, they open the gates all at once. The result is a sudden wall of water that leaves downstream residents with no time to react.

Dung says the government must pair technical requirements with financial compensation. If a reservoir is ordered to release two hundred million cubic meters to prepare for a storm, there should be a clear mechanism to offset the revenue loss. He suggests using the national disaster prevention fund. Without this, private operators will always be reluctant and the system will remain risky.

He adds that hydropower plays a much larger role in flood impacts than irrigation dams in central Vietnam. Many hydropower projects were approved with electricity generation as the top priority and flood control only as a secondary function. Climate change and rising disaster risks mean this approach must be revised. Flood reduction should be a mandatory primary objective.

Dung also says Vietnam can deploy real time flood maps linked to location data. These tools can show exactly which areas will be flooded, how high the water will rise, and how many people are in danger. This would allow faster, more targeted evacuations.

Another issue is the lack of regulation for new types of dams, such as tourist dams and mine tailing ponds. Recent incidents in Lam Dong show that these structures fall outside existing legal frameworks. Dung urges Vietnam to develop a comprehensive Dam Safety Law, similar to India’s model.

Other experts say managing water resources by river basin, not by administrative boundaries, is essential. They also welcome the recent decision to merge Vietnam’s agriculture and environment ministries, a move they believe will help unify data, policies, and dam operations.

For now, the latest floods have revealed a deeper structural problem. As long as hydropower revenues depend on keeping reservoirs high and as long as dam operators face unclear or conflicting instructions, downstream communities will remain vulnerable to sudden floods.

Police in Ho Chi Minh City are investigating a shocking discovery at a high-end residential complex in Binh Thanh District. On the afternoon of 23 November, security staff stopped two men carrying a large blue bag that gave off a strong odor. Moments later, both suspects fled the scene, hijacking a taxi parked nearby.

Authorities quickly sealed off the area and inspected the bag. Inside, they found the body of a man in an advanced stage of decomposition. The victim had been renting an apartment in the same building.

Sources indicate the victim is a foreign national, and the two men who escaped may be from the same country. Police are now tracking the suspects and reviewing surveillance footage from the building and surrounding streets.

Residents described the incident as deeply disturbing. The building, located on Nguyen Huu Canh Street in Binh Thanh District, is known for its upscale apartments and large expatriate community.

Officials have not yet released the victim’s identity or any potential motive. The investigation is ongoing.

Ho Chi Minh City’s new metro stations have become an unexpected symbol of solidarity. By the afternoon of 23 November, residents across the city had delivered more than 180 tons of relief supplies to stations on the Ben Thanh to Suoi Tien line. The volume continues to rise as people arrive through the night with food, blankets, medicine, and clothing for communities hit by severe flooding in central Vietnam.

For many donors, the metro system offers an easy and central drop off point. Staff quickly move each shipment from the platforms to waiting trucks, which then deliver everything to the Vietnam Fatherland Front office, the agency coordinating national relief efforts.

The agency has issued an updated priority list for the night. It is asking donors to focus on essential items that can be used immediately by families in flooded areas. These include instant noodles, milk, packaged cakes, ten kilogram rice bags, blankets, sausages, canned fish, canned meat, and diapers for both children and adults. Other donated goods will still be accepted and repacked for later distribution.

Teams from Ho Chi Minh City’s metro operator and the Vietnam Fatherland Front have been working through the night to sort and load supplies. Some shifts ran until three in the morning to keep up with the pace of incoming donations.

Metro stations will continue receiving contributions until 23:00 tonight. All goods will then be transported to a central warehouse for immediate shipment to provinces in central Vietnam.

This surge of public support reflects a familiar pattern in Vietnam. When disasters strike, communities mobilize fast, and local infrastructure becomes a lifeline. For international readers following Vietnam’s flood response, the scene at the metro stations offers a clear message. The country’s first modern urban rail line is already serving a purpose far bigger than transport. It has become a trusted channel that connects urban residents with families in crisis across the country.