Police in Phú Thọ province, northern Vietnam, have brought criminal charges against the owners of two electrical goods shops in Thổ Tang commune accused of passing off Chinese-made grass cutters as Thai, Japanese or branded products, according to a report published on the Ministry of Public Security's website on 8 November. [1]

Commune police identified the two shops through online monitoring and inspected them with Market Surveillance Team No. 8. Police say the owners, Nguyễn Tiến Luật (born 2000) and Nguyễn Duy Pháp (born 1993), bought grass cutters made in China, removed the original labels and replaced them with labels stating Thai or Japanese origin, or with the HUSTHAI, Kawasaki or MASARU marks. The machines were advertised on Facebook as imported, genuine goods. [1]

Officers seized 180 sets branded HUSTHAI PROMAX, 332 sets branded HusThaiLanPro and 11 relabelled machines, along with engine heads, labels and tools. Police valued the goods at more than VND 613 million. [1]

On 12 October the provincial police investigation agency opened a criminal case and charged Luật with infringing industrial property rights under Article 226 of the Criminal Code, and Pháp with deceiving customers under Article 198. The report does not say which rights holders are involved or whether any of them complained. [1]

Sources

1. Ministry of Public Security (Bộ Công an). Khởi tố 02 đối tượng có hành vi giả mạo nhãn hiệu, gian lận xuất xứ máy cắt cỏ (Two people charged over counterfeiting marks and origin fraud involving grass cutters). Vietnamese. Published 8 November 2026 (Hanoi time). Accessed 10 November 2026.