Hui, ho, bieu, phuong - hundreds of people cried (Part 2): Identifying bieu, phuong and solutions to rectify them

Hui, ho, bieu, and phuong are considered a form of capital contribution and accumulation to support each other and they have been formed for a long time in social life in many localities in the province in particular and the whole country in general. When the socio-economy develops, hui, ho, bieu, and phuong also exist as an objective reality, regardless of regulations and sanctions as well as warnings and deterrence of the law.

Hui, ho, bieu, phuong - hundreds of people cried (Part 2): Identifying bieu, phuong and solutions to rectify them People of Quang Binh commune (Quang Xuong) provide information about the collapse of the local savings association. Photo: PV

Article 471 of the 2015 Civil Code clearly states: "Ho, hui, bieu, and phuong (collectively referred to as hui) are forms of property transactions according to custom based on an agreement of a group of people gathered together to determine the number of people, time, amount of money or other assets, the form of contribution, receipt of hui and the rights and obligations of members...". The Government has also issued a decree specifying the operating method of this form of capital contribution.

On the positive side, this can be seen as a form of capital mobilization, mutual support among the people to develop the family economy. And, if operated according to regulations, it is also an easy way to contribute capital and borrow capital, suitable for living conditions in rural areas. People who need capital can collect money from the hui to manage their work, with a small interest rate, and those who have money consider this a form of profitable savings. The hui leader receives a commission as a form of payment when standing up to collect the hui, and is responsible to the hui members. Regarding the operating method, when playing the hui, there will be one person who will act as the leader and invite other members to play. The hui leader is responsible for collecting money or assets from the "hui members". Each “hui chain” has no limit on the number of players and can agree on the amount of money, the time of contribution and the opening period of the hui... The legal basis for a “hui chain” is only the trust between the players, who agree and commit to spend a certain amount of money each month to save by contributing to the hui and wait for their turn to receive the hui in a circular cycle.

However, this is also an opportunity for the hui owners to take advantage of the trust of the "hui members" to "take" the money contributed by the members and run away or declare the hui to be bankrupt in order to appropriate the property. In fact, in Thanh Hoa province, there have been dozens of hui bankruptcies with tens of billions of dong in the past, but they still cannot create an alarm bell, but on the contrary, many people still rush into hui chains based on the foundation of "trust" without any legal protection. Despite the risks, hui, ho, bieu, and wards are still an attractive activity for many people, mainly low-income people in rural and mountainous areas, people who have difficulty accessing bank loans, while hui, ho, bieu, wards and black credit are infiltrated in real life and are easily accessed through simple procedures, without any legal constraints. Therefore, hui, ho, bieu, and phuong exist as an objective reality in life, despite warnings and threats from authorities. The consequences of hui, ho, bieu, and phuong have caused hundreds of people to fall into poverty, with difficulties piling up, and some even committing suicide due to extreme poverty, depression, and desperation.

Through the review of the authorities of Quang Xuong district, up to now, in the district there are 10 ward and hui leaders and 199 participants. Each ward and hui chain has an amount of money of over 100 million VND. Recently, in the district there have been many cases of "broken hui", this sounds the alarm bell for people to be extremely vigilant, carefully study the provisions of the law before deciding to participate.

Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Van Binh, Deputy Head of Quang Xuong District Police, said that participating in hui, ho, bieu, and wards is clearly regulated in Decree No. 19/ND-CP, dated February 19, 2019 of the Government, but the awareness and understanding of hui owners and people are still very limited. Participating in wards and hui has many risks and unpredictable consequences; handling to recover assets and return them to people is extremely difficult. Therefore, the police agency recommends that people should choose appropriate and safe forms of investment, savings, and accumulation. If choosing to play hui, they must be very careful and cautious in choosing hui owners, and at the same time, have a firm grasp of the legal provisions related to playing hui and contributing capital, both to ensure their legitimate rights and interests and to avoid risks. Along with that, if people decide to join the ward or hui, they need to note: Do not take advantage of the organization of the hui to commit acts of fraud and appropriation of property. Regarding the form of operation, the hui owner and the hui members need to reach an agreement in writing and it must be notarized or certified if requested by the parties. Regarding the responsibilities of the hui owner, when opening a hui chain with a value of 100 million VND or more or opening 2 or more hui chains, it is mandatory to notify the People's Committee of the commune where they reside. If the hui owner does not comply, he/she will be handled for violations according to the provisions of law...

In Ba Thuoc district, there are currently 7 ward and hui owners. Dien Lu commune alone has 5 hui owners. In 2022, 1 hui owner announced bankruptcy and in May 2023, another hui owner committed suicide by jumping into the river. There are 3 hui owners left with 7 hui chains, each chain has about 20 participants.

Commenting on the activities of hui, ho, bieu, and phuong in the area, Lieutenant Colonel Le Quang Hien, Deputy Chief of Ba Thuoc District Police, said that in the coming time, the situation will still be complicated. The collapse of hui will leave very serious economic consequences, affecting family life and security and order in the locality. Therefore, to rectify this situation, the District Police coordinate with departments, branches, organizations, and localities to strengthen propaganda and mobilization work for cadres, members, and people of all walks of life through direct means, on loudspeakers, on zalo, facebook, fanpage, etc. to warn of the risks of debt default, causing insecurity and disorder in the activities of hui, ho, bieu, wards, and the source of other crimes, such as: fraud, illegal credit activities, property extortion, etc. Regarding the role of the People's Committee at the commune level, it is necessary to strictly manage hui owners and members in the locality, requiring people when organizing and participating in hui to strictly comply with the provisions of the law on hui, ho, bieu, wards; regularly reflect on the methods and tricks of subjects taking advantage of hui contributions to commit crimes of fraud and property appropriation or abuse of trust to appropriate property so that people can be vigilant and fight; Require 100% of local hui owners to notify the People's Committee of the commune or ward when organizing hui contributions in accordance with the provisions of law; resolutely punish violations in cases where hui owners do not fulfill the obligations specified in Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 19 of the Government...

In order to enhance the State's management role in the form of customary property transactions, in 2006, the Government issued Decree No. 144/2006/ND-CP regulating the rights and obligations of those participating in the hui. However, this legal document is still not sufficient to protect the legitimate interests of players in the event of a hui failure. To overcome this, on February 19, 2019, the Government issued Decree No. 19/2019/ND-CP specifying the principles of organizing the hui, conditions for participation, to the agreement as well as interest rates, rights, obligations and legal responsibilities of the participating parties... However, in reality, in order to avoid becoming a victim of the "ghost hui" that snatches the hui and breaks the hui, each person needs to raise their vigilance to protect their own money and assets; You should consider carefully before deciding to join a hui, avoid the mentality of being greedy for immediate profits and falling into the "trap" of the hui owner's fraudulent tricks, leading to loss of money and suffering.

Gia Bao

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