On August 27, authorities in Ho Chi Minh City issued an administrative penalty decision against Miss Phuong Le, whose real name is Le Thi Hau Phuong, for violating the law by changing the lyrics of the National Anthem during a livestream on social media. The decision was made after a meeting between the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications, the Internal Political Security Department (PA03) of the Ho Chi Minh City Police, and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports with Ms. Phuong Le.
During the meeting, Ms. Phuong Le admitted that her act of changing the lyrics of the National Anthem took place while she was being attacked by anti-fans and was a spontaneous reaction, without any prior thought or intention. After realizing that her behavior was inappropriate, she removed the video and posted an apology on her personal page on August 16.
After considering the factors of purpose, motive, content, awareness of wrongdoing and cooperative attitude of Ms. Phuong Le, the authorities decided to impose an administrative penalty for the act of distorting a work that harms the honor and reputation of the author, according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree 131/2013/ND-CP on administrative penalties for violations related to copyright and related rights.
In addition, the Department of Information and Communications of Ho Chi Minh City also imposed a penalty on Ms. Phuong Le according to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 101 of Decree No. 15/2020/ND-CP for providing and sharing information that is not in accordance with the nation’s customs and traditions.
The incident has attracted public attention and highlighted the importance of respecting cultural and national values, especially when using social media platforms to disseminate information.