Woman in Da Nang gets jail for leasing house to foreigner staying illegally

Dang Thuy Diem, 41, was guilty of "brokering illegal stay in Vietnam," the Da Nang People's Court pronounced Monday.

In 2019 she rented an apartment in Ngu Hanh Son District for business.

A South Korean man named Woo Jae Yeol, 52, flew into Da Nang under a visa exemption program and was allowed to stay until September 15, 2019.

But at the end of his visa waiver period he did not want to return to South Korea and so sought a way to remain illegally in Vietnam.

After several other landlords refused to rent him accommodation since he did not have a passport and visa, Diem agreed to do so in March 2020. Woo told her he lost his passport and was using a photo of it in his phone to apply for jobs and places to stay.

Diem did not report to authorities she had leased her house to a foreigner, as the law stipulates. She earned VND32.5 million ($1,390) of rent, which was deemed illegal gains.

The police found out about her violation in June 2021.