David, a British citizen doing business in Ho Chi Minh City, asked DEDICA:
"I have a business dispute with a Vietnamese partner. Recently I keep receiving text messages and phone calls threatening to 'deal with' me and my family if I don't pay. I'm very scared, but as a foreigner I'm not sure whether the Vietnamese police will handle my case, or where I should even start."
DEDICA ADVISES You are fully entitled to protection under Vietnamese law, regardless of your nationality. Threatening to kill someone can be a criminal offence, and you have the right to file a report so that the competent authorities step in. The most important thing right now is to preserve all evidence of the threats and report to the correct authority. If your life is threatened because you provided information about a crime, the law also allows you to request protective measures. Below are the legal grounds and the specific steps.
Threats to life under Vietnamese criminal law
First, you should know that Vietnamese criminal law protects the life and health of everyone within the territory of Vietnam, whether a Vietnamese citizen or a foreigner. Holding a foreign nationality does not diminish your right to protection.
A threat to kill is not merely empty words. When the threat has grounds that make you genuinely fear it will be carried out, that conduct may constitute a criminal offence.
What does this mean for you? The messages and calls threatening to "deal with" you and your family, if they carry enough grounds to make you fear, are precisely the signs of the conduct the law anticipates. You do not have to wait until something happens before speaking up. Detecting and denouncing conduct that shows signs of a crime to the competent authority is your right.
And the receiving authority is not allowed to turn you away. The law clearly provides that every crime denunciation or report must be fully received and promptly resolved, and the agency responsible for receiving them may not refuse to do so (Article 145, Criminal Procedure Code 2015). This is the point that should reassure you: you have a legal basis to demand to be heard.
Steps you should take immediately to protect yourself
Drawing on DEDICA's practical experience with matters involving foreign elements, here is a practical path for your situation.
First, preserve all evidence. Do not delete messages or rush to block the number. Screenshot the messages, note the times of the calls, save the phone numbers, and record audio if you can. Also record the background of the business dispute that led to the threats. The more complete the evidence, the easier it is for the investigating authority to assess the nature of the matter.
Second, report to the correct authority. You may file a denunciation orally or in writing with the police or the Procuracy. Because of the language barrier, you should prepare a written denunciation in Vietnamese together with the evidence, and consider having an interpreter or lawyer accompany you so that your statement is recorded accurately.
Third, request protective measures if you feel your life is at risk. This is a point many foreigners do not realise they are entitled to. When you are a person who denounces a crime or a victim, you belong to the group of persons protected by law.
Where there are grounds to determine that your life or health is being harmed or threatened with harm because you provided information relating to a crime, the competent authority may apply measures such as deploying forces to guard and protect you, keeping information about you confidential, or deterring and neutralising the harmful conduct (Article 486, Criminal Procedure Code 2015). You have the right to make a written request to the competent authority to apply these measures.
Conclusion
In short, even as a foreign national, you are protected by Vietnamese law on an equal footing when your life is threatened. What to do: (1) preserve all evidence of the threats and do not delete it; (2) report to the police or the Procuracy, ideally in writing in Vietnamese with the evidence attached; (3) submit a written request for protective measures if you fear for your safety and your family's; (4) if the risk is immediate, call the nearest police first. You do not have to cope alone in a foreign country with a different language.
If you are being threatened and are unsure where to start, DEDICA can help you draft a proper denunciation in Vietnamese, compile and present the evidence, send a lawyer to accompany you when working with the police, and request protective measures on your behalf. Contact DEDICA for legal advice tailored to your specific situation.
The above is for reference only; each matter depends on its specific facts, evidence, and procedural stage, so please consult a DEDICA lawyer for accurate advice.
