On 2/7, the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department of Quang Ngai Provincial Police announced that it had coordinated with professional units and local police to summon for questioning, admonish, and penalize 63 individuals for interacting, commenting, and sharing information from Le Trung Khoa's online platforms.

Previously, through review and verification, authorities discovered numerous accounts in the province regularly following and interacting with content identified as fabricated and distorting, posted by Le Trung Khoa. Most violators stated that due to limited awareness and a lack of information verification skills, they unintentionally helped spread the content.

Among these, Quang Ngai Provincial Police admonished and educated 61 individuals; two were administratively fined a total of 12,5 million VND. Subsequently, these individuals voluntarily removed their comments, left groups containing harmful content, and signed a commitment not to re-offend.

Le Trung Khoa (54, from Thanh Hoa) and Nguyen Van Dai (56, from Hung Yen province) were tried in absentia by the Hanoi People's Court on 31/12/2025. Each was sentenced to 17 years in prison for making, storing, disseminating, or propagating information and materials against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, under Article 117, Clause 2 of the Criminal Code.

In the same case as Le Trung Khoa, Do Van Nga (47, from Gia Lai province) was sentenced to 7 years in prison; Huynh Bao Duc (41, from TP HCM) received a 6-year, 6-month sentence, and Pham Quang Thien (47) a 5-year, 6-month sentence, all for the same charge.

Quang Ngai Provincial Police working with citizens who interacted with Le Trung Khoa and Nguyen Van Dai's pages. *Photo: Dat Quan*

4 other localities also summoned hundreds of individuals

In June, Ha Tinh Provincial Police verified, summoned for questioning, admonished, and educated 135 individuals for interacting with pages named after Le Trung Khoa and Nguyen Van Dai. Most admitted their actions, stating they did not fully recognize the nature of these websites and unintentionally helped spread information. After being educated, these individuals removed comments, left the groups, and committed not to re-offend.

In Da Nang City, from 10/6 to 20/6, the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department collaborated with commune and ward police to summon for questioning, admonish, and educate 79 individuals. Authorities are also continuing to strengthen dossiers for over 20 other cases, raising the total number of verified and penalized individuals to over 100.

Previously, in May, Hue City Police summoned 45 individuals who regularly reacted, commented, or shared content deemed fake and distorting on these pages. During the same period, Lai Chau Provincial Police also summoned 10 individuals for similar actions. After the meetings, all these individuals committed not to re-offend, voluntarily removed posts and comments, and left related groups.

As of early July, at least 5 localities—Quang Ngai, Ha Tinh, Da Nang, Hue, and Lai Chau—had summoned for questioning, admonished, or penalized over 350 individuals for interacting with the online pages of Le Trung Khoa and Nguyen Van Dai.

According to local police, the main reason for these violations is individuals' lack of skills in identifying and verifying information on social media. Authorities recommend that citizens only access and share information from official sources; avoid interacting with or spreading content that violates the law; and report any signs of violation to the nearest police agency.

Dat Quan - Van Linh