Hai Sen Enterprise sells fake goods but is still honored: What does the awarding unit say?

The time when Le Van Hai's Hai Be Company was honored in 2023. (Source: HTV)

Recently, public opinion has been stirred up by the arrest of Le Van Hai (born in 1995, Ninh Binh ) - owner of the Tik Tok channel "Gia Dinh Hai Sen" - for trading in counterfeit goods. Notably, in 2023, Le Van Hai's Hai Be enterprise was honored in a national quality product program. And currently, the products of this enterprise have been determined to be counterfeit by the investigation agency.

Responding to VTC News reporters on this issue, an official from the Asian Economic Research Institute (the organizer) said that this honor program is mainly for communication purposes. When businesses participate and submit their applications, the organizers will evaluate them based on the information provided by the businesses.

“ We do not have the function to inspect and monitor product quality and production processes like a state management agency. Therefore, when businesses want to be honored in the program to do communication work but then violate or do not comply with the commitment, the organizing committee will revoke the certificates that have been granted ,” he said.

In addition, this person added that the organizing committee has sent a document to the business to notify the revocation of the title: " This program has been taking place since 2023 and during the business process they violated the law, so the organizing committee will revoke it."

According to the introduction, the program of Prestigious Brands, National Quality Products and Services has been held annually for ten years. On the website of the Asian Economic Research Institute, there have been many articles introducing this program. However, currently, this website is inaccessible due to maintenance.

Website of the Asian Economic Research Institute before...

...and then being inaccessible. (Screenshot)

Tight control of honorary awards

Discussing this issue, economic expert Nguyen Minh Phong commented that there could be two possibilities.

One is a certificate of honor that businesses have campaigned to achieve, with the purpose of promoting the brand, serving as a fulcrum for customers to trust in product quality, helping to sell more products.

Second, they did it right and were honored before, but then they broke the law. This case is similar to a person who was honored before but after a while became a criminal.

Before being arrested for selling counterfeit goods, Le Van Hai's company was honored in a program about national prestigious and quality brands. (Photo: Social Network)

According to Mr. Phong, in essence, award and recognition programs are good when they aim to honor and encourage individuals and organizations that are active and have many contributions to society, spreading to the community.

“However, recently, this honor has grown more and more, and there are fake certificates or certificates awarded by mistake. This is a shortcoming, even a mistake of the awarding units. And more dangerously, for dishonest businesses, they will take advantage of it to profit and deceive customers,” Mr. Phong emphasized.

Also discussing the loopholes in honoring businesses or individuals, lawyer Tran Tuan Anh - Director of Minh Bach Law Firm recounted: He used to work for a manufacturing company and received many invitations to attend similar honor programs.

However, when he researched to participate, he realized that these programs did not set any specific criteria for comparison and ranking. “They do not check the quality of the products but rely entirely on the commitments of the businesses. From there, the ranking is honored by trust or even the value of the amount of sponsorship for each position ,” Mr. Tuan Anh stated the reality.

National Assembly delegate Nguyen Quang Huan ( Binh Duong delegation), Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Private Entrepreneurs, frankly stated his opinion: “The fact that an enterprise is awarded an award but is later discovered to be producing counterfeit or poor quality goods will cause huge consequences not only for consumers but also for society and affect legitimate enterprises. Because it will make consumers doubt the quality of Vietnamese goods, doubt the results of the awards. From there, they limit their purchases, even of products from reputable enterprises."

Therefore, according to delegate Nguyen Quang Huan, the investigation agency needs to clarify whether the awarding of awards to individuals and businesses is currently being carried out in accordance with the process and whether it is reasonable? What is their responsibility if they honor the wrong person?

“If a business or individual commits a crime after being awarded the prize, the organizing unit will not be involved. However, if the authorities discover collusion, profiteering, or collaboration between the parties, the organizing party must take responsibility ,” Mr. Huan said.

Sharing the same opinion, expert Nguyen Minh Phong emphasized: "This is like punishing celebrities for advertising indiscriminately, it is impossible to promote carelessly like that. It is time for award-giving units to no longer freely grant certificates without carefully examining the product ."

Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh also expressed the need to strictly control honorary awards. “Recently, public opinion was shocked by the news that a famous coffee table business, certified by OCOP, was selling fake products, and now there is the case of Hai Be,” Mr. Tuan Anh cited.

Therefore, Mr. Tuan Anh said that management agencies need to set out specific criteria so that honor programs can consider this as a "guiding principle" when selecting businesses and individuals worthy of honor.

At the same time, legally, there needs to be post-audit mechanisms to be ready to revoke the title when there is a violation. " Usually, the units that award and honor are done, they are not responsible for the products or activities of the businesses and individuals afterwards. Therefore, the organizing units have no legal responsibility. But I think that the units that have profited from their honor program need to be responsible to the end ," Mr. Tuan Anh stated his opinion.

On the evening of June 16, Ninh Binh Provincial Police arrested Le Van Hai (born in 1995, residing in Van Phu Commune, Nho Quan District) to investigate his behavior related to the sale of goods on social networks. According to the Ninh Binh Provincial Police Investigation Agency, from 2024 to present, Hai and a number of individuals have sold more than 800,000 products, of which the "Hai Be delicious syrup" product alone has sold over 100,000 boxes of products.

The results of the appraisal of the quality indicators of "Hai Be delicious syrup", the authorities discovered that the substances including vitamin A, calcium, vitamin C (the main substances that create the product's effects) only reached less than 70% compared to the announcement. According to the provisions of Decree No. 98/2020 of the Government, the health protection food "Hai Be delicious syrup" is counterfeit.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/doanh-nghiep-hai-sen-ban-hang-gia-van-duoc-vinh-danh-don-vi-trao-giai-noi-gi-5050701.html