Viet Nam News
HA NOI – Regular inspections by local authorities have failed to curb law violations at karaoke bars in Ha Noi, heard attendees at a recent conference on managing karaoke bar operations.
According to To Van Dong, Director of Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, this stems from the fact that many inspections are carried out for the sake of performance.
“There are even cases wherein members of the inspection team give prior notice to the businesses subject to inspection,” he said.
Sudden inspections on karaoke bars across the city following a deadly fire at a karaoke bar in Ha Noi’s Cau Giay District earlier this month have revealed that most karaoke businesses do not satisfy regulations on running the service.
More than half out of nearly 1,200 karaoke bars in the city have oversized billboards that cover most of the building’s façade.
This poses an increased risk of fire, according to Hoang Quoc Dinh, Director of Ha Noi Fire Prevention and Fighting Police Department.
“Sixty per cent of fires happening in the city are caused by electrical malfunctions, many of which stem from billboards. These boards also obstruct firefighters trying to enter a property when fire breaks out,” he said.
Other violations include operating without licences, poorly designed singing rooms, a lack of firefighting systems, or unsafe elevators. All 60 karaoke bars in Hai Ba Trung District violated regulations, as well as 35 out of 36 karaoke bars in Hoang Mai District.
The recent inspections also discovered cases of karaoke bars granted business licences even though they did not meet the necessary requirements.
Poor handling of the violations, which allowed bars to continue operations after paying a fine, is also to blame for the problem, according to Dong, citing the accident at the karaoke bar in Cau Giay that left 13 people dead.
“One week before the fire, the multi-sector inspection team found violations at the bar and asked local authorities to impose punishment. However, the bar continued operating, resulting in lethal consequences,” Dong said.
“I think the operation of all karaoke bars that do not meet regulations must be suspended right away. It will be very dangerous allowing them to pay fines and continue business as usual.”
However, local authorities said there was no legal grounds to stop their business.
“According to the law, district authorities are allowed to grant business licences to karaoke bars, but there are no regulations on revoking these licences,” said Nguyen Van Loi, a representative from Chuong My District.
To tackle the problem, Ngo Van Quy, Vice Chairman of Ha Noi’s People’s Committee suggested district authorities impose determinate suspension to those violated businesses.
“Responsible district authorities can consecutively impose determinate suspension on them if they refuse to correct their violations,” he said.
Quy also asked local police to conduct more surprise inspections on karaoke bars, on top of the regular inspections by multi-sector inspection teams.
Local authorities should also act to stop businesses being given prior notice of an inspection, he said. – VNS