The fines for people engaging in extramarital relationships may be increased to VND5 million (US$240) and the ban on same-sex marriage may be removed.
The latest draft decree including these issues was reported by the Ministry of Justice’s Inspectorate to Minister Ha Hung Cuong at a meeting yesterday.
Accordingly, married people must pay a fine from $96 to $240, instead of just VND100,000-500,000 ($$4.8-24) as present, if they are found marrying or living with another individuals like husband and wife.
At the same time, single people who get married to or cohabit with those who they know are married are subject to the same fines.
In the previous draft decree, the drafting committee proposed that the fines be increased to only VND200,000-1 million, but after receiving feedback from the public and mass media, the drafters finally proposed higher fines, Nguyen Thang Loi, deputy chief inspector of the ministry, said.
They have also removed the ban on same-sex marriage in their latest proposal.
In respect to this issue, Deputy Justice Minister Phan Quy Ty, head of the drafting committee, said, “The drafters have removed the ban only because such a ban is not appropriate with current social conditions. The proposed removal of the ban should not be interpreted as an acceptance of same-sex marriage in Vietnam.”
Ty emphasized that “whether same-sex marriage is accepted or not should be based on more studies and more public opinions.”
