{"id":9083,"date":"2021-09-09T18:05:40","date_gmt":"2021-09-09T10:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/?p=9083"},"modified":"2021-09-14T13:19:09","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T05:19:09","slug":"patient-discharge-notice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmartlocal.com\/vietnam\/patient-discharge-notice\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 Patient Pretends To Be Doctor & Issues Discharge Notice To Fellow Patients As Joke, Gets Fined"},"content":{"rendered":"

Covid-19 patient pretends to be doctor & announces discharge notice as joke<\/h2>\n
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The heavy Covid-19 outbreak over the past few months has left Vietnam in a pretty gloomy state. Understandably, humor is hard to come by these days and is for the most part, welcome.<\/p>\n

But there are things you should joke about, and there are things you shouldn\u2019t. Covid-19, for instance, is taken very seriously here, and any misinformation regarding the topic, even as jokes, can potentially entail great consequences.<\/p>\n

One man learned that the hard way after he was given a heavy fine for pretending to be a doctor and announcing discharge notices for Covid-19 patients<\/strong>. Here\u2019s how the story plays out.<\/p>\n

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He posted in a quarantine facility\u2019s social media group using a fake account<\/h3>\n
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\"patient
\nAn officer from B\u00ecnh D\u01b0\u01a1ng Province\u2019s Department of Information and Communication (right) working with Mr. H. (left)<\/em>
\nImage credit: Zing News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

As Zing News<\/a> reported, on 8th September, B\u00ecnh D\u01b0\u01a1ng Province\u2019s Department of Information and Communication investigated the case of a certain Mr. T. V. H. on account of spreading false information.<\/p>\n

Mr. H. was a Covid-19 patient being quarantined at a local facility. On 5th September, he created an account named \u201cDr. Long\u201d on Zalo \u2013 a popular social media platform in Vietnam. With it, the patient then posted a false discharge notice in the quarantine facility\u2019s shared group.<\/p>\n

The notice claimed that every patient in the facility would be discharged on the next day. Understandably, this abrupt and bizarre piece of information caused a lot of confusion among everyone present.<\/p>\n

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He was given a heavy fine<\/h3>\n
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Authorities were quickly informed, and an investigation pointed to Mr. H. as the one responsible for the false notice.<\/p>\n

When questioned, the man said he did so as a joke for fun. Clearly, he never expected that his joke would spiral way out of control.<\/p>\n

In any case, his action came with a repercussion. He was given a heavy fine of VND7.5 million (~USD330)<\/strong>. The man also admitted his wrongdoing and promised not to repeat his action again.<\/p>\n

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Be careful with what you share on the Internet<\/h3>\n
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Mr. H. might have simply wanted to bring some lightheartedness and stir up the boring life in quarantine. However, the method he chose was ill-advised.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing to make a joke, entirely another to distribute downright false information that causes confusion and panic \u2013 especially about a sensitive topic most people take seriously such as Covid-19.<\/p>\n

At least this time, the incident didn\u2019t cause any great harm. Hopefully, the man will be more careful with what he chooses to post on the Internet in the future.<\/p>\n

For more stories, check out:<\/p>\n