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Model Ngoc Trinh at the HCMC police station, October 19, 2023. Photo provided by police |
If the model had simply driven the motorcycles and not uploaded the images, she would have been punished only for administrative violations, lawyer Nguyen Huu The Trach said.
“Trinh disrupted public order by posting videos of herself engaging in daredevil moves on a motorbike. [rather than by performing such acts]”, he said. “His act could motivate his followers, especially the younger generation, to imitate him.”
Local authorities announced Thursday that Trinh and his personal trainer Tran Xuan Dong would be detained for three months for investigation on charges of “disturbing public order.”
Authorities also raided Trinh’s home and seized several documents.
The arrest came after investigators discovered that Trinh had posted five videos of herself driving the vehicles on her TikTok channel and Facebook pages, each with millions of followers.
Her videos were then distributed even more widely online, attracting heavy public criticism, police said, as she performed acts such as lying down and kneeling on the vehicle’s seat and putting her two legs sideways, as she drove on the roads of Thu Duc town.
Investigators determined that this content “harmed public order and safety” and “negatively affected the lifestyle and thinking of young people”, in violation of the Code of Conduct for Behavior on Social Media published by the Ministry of Information and Communication in June 2021.
An investigation also revealed that Trinh had not obtained a license to ride large-engine motorcycles.
Lawyer Nguyen Van Hau of the Vietnam Bar Federation agrees with Trach, saying the model was not arrested because of her daredevil actions. Instead, she was arrested for “disturbing public order” via the videos posted on her social media accounts.
According to Hau, since Trinh is a public figure whose social media profiles have a large number of followers, therefore his every move is observed and followed by many.
“Trinh’s videos risk encouraging the public to copy his actions, which threatens social security, order and security,” Hau said. “The large number of views these videos attracted allowed authorities to determine that Trinh’s behavior was dangerous to society.”
Nonetheless, Trach said Trinh’s detention was a relatively “strict” punishment for the model, as investigations are still ongoing.
He believed Trinh could have been investigated without being arrested, and could have simply been banned from leaving the country.
Coming from a poor family background, Trinh, 34, began her modeling career in 2005 before becoming known to the public with her lingerie and swimsuit photo shoots.
She then became the winner of the Miss Vietnam International pageant in 2011.
She made her acting debut in 2016 with her role in “Vong Eo 56” (Bikini Queen), based on her life, and has since participated in various film projects.
