Lawyer "gives advice" to Pham Thoai on handling the case of 16 billion VND in donations to baby Bap's mother

In the past few days, the scandal related to the statement of the charity money of more than 16 billion VND that many people supported for baby Bap (Ms. Hoa's son) in his journey to treat cancer with the companionship of Pham Thoai has become the center of attention.

Ms. Hoa’s previous statements quickly spread on social media. The mother was condemned by the online community for allegedly using the donated money for the wrong purposes, such as buying a house, buying a car, sending her older child to an international school, getting porcelain teeth, etc.

On the evening of February 24, sharing with the press, Ms. Hoa confirmed that the video was edited and not true. Regarding the statement of charity money, she said that TikToker Pham Thoai (the person who posted the post calling for donations to support baby Bap) will livestream to share transparently on the evening of February 25.

Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh (Minh Bach Law Firm) recently expressed his opinion on the above incident.

Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh said that the controversy over TikToker Pham Thoai's call for charity support for baby Bap has shown that there are many problems in the charity organization of many individuals with a "voice" in today's society.

Pursuant to Decree No. 93/2021/ND-CP, individuals calling for support for patients with serious illnesses must comply with many requirements to ensure transparency and fairness so that the money reaches the right place and the right person.

Clause 2, Article 17 of Decree 93 stipulates that individuals must open a separate bank account for each campaign to manage the amount of contributions. This helps to clearly separate personal finances and charitable funds.

Regardless of the purpose of the charity appeal, the individual making the appeal must publicly and transparently disclose the amount of money received and must have receipts for voluntary contributions in cash or in kind when requested by the contributing organization or individual.

In the case of calling for support for patients with serious illnesses, according to Clause 2, Article 23 of Decree 93, individuals must fully summarize information on the results of receiving and using voluntary contributions to support patients with serious illnesses and make it public in the media.

"Because he called for donations through Pham Thoai's bank account, he had many ways to publicize the information of his supporters, such as making a list of names, amounts, and donation times, or asking the bank to provide account statements.

However, to ensure transparency and objectivity, bank statements will be more reliable than lists made by individuals themselves," the lawyer said.

Article 5 of Decree 93 clearly stipulates prohibited acts, including reporting, providing false information, appropriating, misusing or exploiting voluntary contributions for personal gain.

To prove transparency and protect himself, Pham Thoai needs to fully disclose information according to the law, especially the amount of money received and transferred to Bap's mother. Due to the large amount of money, proof needs to be through bank statements.

The disclosure is not only to protect the caller but also the legitimate right of the supporters. If Pham Thoai does not disclose, the supporters have the right to be suspicious and submit a request for the police to investigate.

In case of signs of wrongdoing, this wrongdoing can be prosecuted for the crime of "Fraud and appropriation of property" under Article 174 of the Penal Code. The penalty can be non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to life.

Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh shared that Bap's mother, as the beneficiary of the money donated to treat her child, has the right to receive and use this money to pay for treatment costs such as hospital fees, medicine and other related expenses.

This is a charitable grant and does not need to be repaid, as long as it is used for the stated purpose.

However, along with the rights, Bap's mother has the obligation to ensure transparency in the amount of money that benefactors have donated to pay for the treatment. Bap's mother needs to prove that the money is used for her son's medical purposes.

If this is a case where details cannot be disclosed for confidentiality reasons, a reasonable explanation is also needed to avoid misunderstandings.

"Currently, due to limited speaking out and unclear responses, Bap's mother has caused doubts in the hearts of contributors, making them question the amount of money they have donated and its real purpose," the lawyer said.

Pham Thoai livestreamed to publicly reveal the entire statement, 3 billion difference, baby Bap's mother took it to pay the debt? Hoàng Phúc07:01:22 26/02/2025On the evening of February 25, Pham Thoai held a livestream to clarify information related to a series of scandals on social networks regarding the amount of more than 16 billion VND that benefactors donated to support baby Bap's medical treatment as well as related issues.