Nguyễn Văn Nhàn is admitting his faults to the police. — Photo doisongvietnam.vn

Bắc Giang Police are completing documents to fine a man for reporting false information when calling 113 – Việt Nam’s police hotline.

Nguyễn Văn Nhàn, 39, of Việt Yên District in the northern province of Bắc Giang is the accused.

At 9pm on April 21, Nhàn called 113, claimed to be a man name Chung who lived in Mai Hạ District and told them a friend of his had prepared a gun and three grenades and was planning to attack a family on April 30.

Provincial criminal police investigated the case and when they tracked down Nhàn, he said he hadn't made the call but a drunken man had.

Police soon discovered that at the beginning of April, Nhàn had also posed as Chung and called 113 to say one of his neighbours had returned home from Hà Nội and he suspected they had contracted COVID-19.

At the police station, Nhàn confessed that his wife had left him and he had called 113 to try and have some fun at the police's expense. He said he also wanted to check if the police would answer the hotline.

While prank calls to 113 carry a maximum fine of VNĐ500,000-1,000,000 (US$22-44), if the caller is deemed to have been committing harassment, they could face a fine of up VNĐ10-20 million ($444-890).

So it seems Nhàn's little jokes are going to cost him a lot more than he bargained for. — VNS