A tourist in Việt Nam is paying the price for a paranormal tale after police issued an unprecedented fine; public opinion on the issue is divided.
The Latest: On June 9, Ninh Bình Provincial Police stated that they had imposed an administrative fine of 7.5 million đồng, or approximately $295, on a female tourist identified as L.Q.A., who resides in Hà Nội. The fine was issued for posting false information about supernatural incidents in Ninh Bình Province.
The Details: On June 1, a Threads account named “netolatone” published a series of posts recounting supernatural experiences the user said she had during a trip to Ninh Bình Province from May 29 to May 31. The supernatural incidents described in the posts included:
- hearing strange sounds inside a cave,
- hearing someone call her name, urging her to jump into the water,
- getting lost at a boat dock and encountering a frightening “thing,”
- a car stopping in the middle of the road,
- being told in a dream to leave early.
The posts were subsequently removed, but many users had already taken screenshots and shared them widely, alongside accounts posting summaries of the entire story.
According to Ninh Bình police, the tourist’s posts drew significant public attention, including more than 52,000 likes and tens of thousands of interactions, comments, and shares. Authorities stated the posts caused conflicting opinions, affecting “security and public order, as well as the tourism image of Ninh Bình Province.”
Police Response: On June 8, the tourist worked with the authorities and admitted to posting 37 items related to supernatural experiences during her trip. Ninh Bình police stated:
“Many details in the posted story had no basis, no witnesses, and some content was added by L.Q.A. herself to make the posts more attractive.”
The agency also interviewed the driver who transported the tourist.
- The driver stated that details mentioned in her posts—such as the car breaking down, the driver forcing passengers out of the vehicle, and the driver sitting with her while waiting for her ex-boyfriend to pick her up—were untrue.
The tourist has been ordered to remove the posts and pledge not to repeat the violation.
Following the case, Ninh Bình police warned residents to carefully verify information and not post or share false content on social media that causes public confusion or harms the reputation of organizations and individuals, adding that violators would be strictly handled.
Furthermore, on June 2, Bùi Văn Mạnh, director of the Ninh Bình Department of Tourism, said that the supernatural story shared by the tourist was “inaccurate, unverified, and written entirely based on emotion,” affecting local tourism.
Social Media Divide: After Ninh Bình police announced that they had “handled” the woman who told the ghost story, social media users expressed sharply divided views. Some users expressed sympathy and shared similar experiences, while others stated they did not believe the story and argued that it contained many implausible details.
- On Threads, le_petiterinn wrote that supernatural matters cannot be proven, so the woman likely “had to admit she made it up just to get it over with.” The account said “ghost stories exist everywhere,” yet authorities had chosen to attack a young woman for telling one.
- Another account, kyanozafeiri, argued that even if the ghost story was fabricated, it did not harm anyone enough to justify a 7.5 million đồng fine.
- Another Threads account, joe.nguyen.1999, wrote, “There are countless Đà Lạt ghost stories, and nothing happens. But tell one about Ninh Bình, and suddenly it affects tourism. Your attitude is very strange.”
- nq_.017, added “other provinces do not treat tourists like this.”
- Another user said that they were not frightened and still wanted to visit Ninh Bình. However, the police handling of the case made them afraid and left a negative impression.
- The Facebook page Bàn tròn Chính trị Việt Nam, which has 336,000 followers, wrote: “The girl said she saw ghosts in Ninh Bình. Officials asked her to prove it. She could not prove it. She was fined 7.5 million đồng.”
Conversely, many accounts supported the authorities’ response.
- An account named bvd_37 said that the fine was entirely deserved because the posts caused public alarm and harmed Ninh Bình’s tourism.
- Tifosi, a Facebook page of unclear ownership known for pro-government content, said “rumors about ghosts have a grave impact,” making many families with young children and elderly members reluctant to travel to Ninh Bình. The page added, “For some reason, many young people have dark minds and narrow vision,” causing trouble for many others, including Grab drivers.
Why It Matters: This appears to be the first time Vietnamese police have fined someone for telling a ghost story. In the past, many tourists have shared supernatural stories about famous destinations such as Đà Lạt and Huế, but no one has been fined.
Over the past several years, many Vietnamese citizens have been fined for posting or sharing information deemed to be “fake news” or false information. The information that typically leads to fines often involves criticism of the Communist Party, the state, or party and state leaders.
Police have also frequently fined people for posting staged content designed to attract engagement on social media, including claims that rice grains left under extreme heat had popped like popcorn or that someone rode a python across Hoàn Kiếm Lake.
Editor’s note: Luật Khoa Magazine has written out abbreviations from the original posts.
Trường An wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on June 9, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
