Decision No. 158/2003/QD-TTg dated July 31, 2003 of the Prime Minister promulgating the provisional regulation on the handling of cases involving mails as well as postal articles and parcels containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons

DECISION

PROMULGATING THE PROVISIONAL REGULATION ON THE HANDLING OF CASES INVOLVING MAILS AS WELL AS POSTAL ARTICLES AND PARCELS CONTAINING STRANGE SUBSTANCES AND/OR OBJECTS DOUBTED TO BE RELATED TO BIOLOGICAL  OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of December 25, 2001;

In order to ensure the safety for human life and health, properties, environment and regular activities of agencies, organizations and citizens,

At the proposals of the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Posts and Telematics,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To promulgate together with this Decision the provisional Regulation on the handling of cases involving mails as well as postal articles and parcels containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 3. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Govemment and the presidents of the provincial/ municipal People's Committees shall have to implement this Decision.

PROVISIONAL REGULATION

ON THE HANDLING OF CASES INVOLVING MAILS AS WELL AS POSTAL ARTICLES AND PARCELS CONTAINING STRANGE SUBSTANCES AND/ OR OBJECTS DOUBTED TO BE RELATED TO BIOLOGICAL OR CHEMICAL WEAPONS
(Issued together with the Prime Minister's Decision No. 158/2003/QD-TTg of July 31, 2003)

Chapter I.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.  Strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons (hereinafter called strange substance and/or objects for short) are substances and objects which are doubted to possibly cause fires, explosion, hazards or radioactivity; doubted to contain biological agents (substances containing microbes, viruses or bacteria...) which affect human life and health or living environment.

Subjects which must be detected and handled under this Regulation are mails as well as postal articles and parcels containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons (hereinafter called sent objects for short):

- Being sent from, or addressed to, agencies, organizations or individuals based in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or being transported on aircraft, ships or other transport means of Vietnam or those flying Vietnam's national flag or on foreign transport means anchoring in, or transiting, Vietnam; foreign diplomatic missions as well as organizations and individuals having diplomatic status of foreign representations based in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

- Being sent abroad from agencies, organizations or individuals based in the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 2. The process of seizing, expertising and handling sent objects must be carried out promptly, ensuring safety for citizens' life and health, the State's and citizens' properties as well as environmental protection in strict accordance with the provisions of this Regulation. At the same time, the contents of mails as well as postal articles and parcels must be kept secret and the citizens' legitimate rights must be ensured.

Article 3.  The police offices shall have to receive information on, and handle, sent objects containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons.

The health, science and technology, and defense agencies shall have to coordinate with the police offices in carrying out the expertise in order to determine and make conclusions on strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons.

Article 4. The expertise conclusions as well as the results of the cases shall be publicized only after it is so permitted by the Minister of Public Security.

The publication of news on the mass media must strictly comply with the provisions of the Press Law and the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets.

Chapter II

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS IN DETECTING AND REPORTING ON CASES

 Article 5. When transporting or receiving sent objects, if agencies, organizations or individuals doubt that such sent objects contain strange substances and/ or objects related to biological or chemical weapons, they must promptly notify the nearest police offices' or Police 113 thereof. At the same time, they must file documents to the police offices reporting on initial information on the cases and proposing their request for the expertise and handling thereof.

If the cases occur and are detected in army units, the Defense Minister's directives, regulations and orders shall be complied with. Functional agencies of the army shall have to handle or request the police offices to coordinate in handling the cases, but must promptly notify the situation and statistical figures on occurring cases to the police offices of the localities where they are stationed for the latter to monitor and handle related cases in a systematic manner.

Article 6. All acts of abusing postal services to send objects containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons or providing untruthful information thereon in order to confuse public opinion are strictly prohibited.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AGENCIES IN RECEIVING INFORMATION AND HANDLING CASES

Section A. RECEIVING AND PROCESSING INFORMATION

Article 7.  When receiving information, the police offices shall have to promptly examine and verify them, guide the reporting agencies, organizations or individuals to apply self-protection measures, isolate and protect the samples and scenes; carry out measures to ensure safety for near-by people; and guide and manage information, prevent bad consequences and impacts which may occur.

In cases where agencies, organizations or individuals directly bring the sent objects for reporting, the police offices or units shall have to urgently inspect and receive the objects and request the organizations or individuals to make written reports thereon; at the same time, transfer sent objects to isolated wards or rooms in order to ensure safety against hazards, radioactivity, fire, explosion or microbes. If the police units are not responsible for directly handling the cases, they must immediately report them to functional and competent superior levels for the latter to work out subsequent handling measures.

Article 8.  In cases where the sent objects are detected in, or received from, agencies, organizations or individuals having diplomatic status or detected in Vietnam-based diplomatic missions or international organizations, the police offices shall have to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in handling them.

The functional agencies, when handling the cases, gathering and preserving the samples, must make specific records thereon to the witness of representatives of the diplomatic agencies or international organizations where the cases occurred; and strictly comply with procedures prescribed by law.

Section B. PROTECTION AND EXAMINATION OF SCENES; INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF DANGERS OF HAZARDS, RADIOACTIVITY, FIRE OR EXPLOSION; SEIZURE AND PRESERVATION OF SAMPLES AND TRACES

Article 9. When receiving information, the police forces must quickly go to the scenes, grasp the situation and immediately implement measures to protect the scenes; render first aid to victims (if any); inspect and handle poisonous and radio active, explosive and flammable substances in the sent objects; seize the samples after handling radioactivity or explosion dangers; collect information related to the cases, record statements of witnesses and examine the scenes in order to detect and gather criminal traces in service of the investigation and verification of the cases. In case of necessity, they may propose the measure of isolating the scenes from the surrounding environment.

Article 10. In case of necessity, the police offices receiving sent objects may request functional forces of the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Science and Technology to support them in the expertise or participate in the handling thereof. The requested agencies must satisfy the police offices' requests.

Article 11. For scenes where sent objects containing strange substances and/or objects are seized but such scenes must be exploited immediately such as on aircraft or ships, or in postal establishments, the health service shall have to coordinate with the aircraft- or ship­managing agencies or post offices in carrying out the detoxication, disinfection and treatment of environment so as to clear the scenes soon.

For sent objects which are detected when the customs clearance procedures therefor are being carried out, the customs offices shall have to request the functional agencies to seize and expertise them, and notify the owners of sent objects thereof. When such sent objects are accurately determined by professional bodies as not related to biological or chemical weapons, the customs offices shall carry out the customs clearance procedures or transfer them to their owners.

In all cases, the opening of sent objects must be notified to, and witnessed by their owners (except for abandoned objects).

Article 12. During the time of inspection and verification, if the agencies, organizations or individuals receiving sent objects wish to know about the contents thereof, they shall send written requests therefor to competent police offices. When receiving written requests, the police offices shall have to notify the accurate contents of sent objects.

Article 13. Agencies, units and administrations in the localities where sent objects containing strange substances and/or objects doubted to be related to biological or chemical weapons are detected shall have to arrange forces for the coordinated protection of the scenes and create conditions for professional forces to perform their tasks.

Section C. INSPECTION, EXPERTISE AND HANDLING OF BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL AGENTS; EXAMINATION AND CLEARANCE OF SCENES; DETERMINATION OF TOXINS OR CHEMICAL COMPONENTS; INVESTIGATION AND HANDLING OF THE CASES

Article 14. After receiving, examining and initially handling sent objects containing strange substances and/ or objects, the police offices shall have to quickly pack the samples, carry out the procedures and transfer the samples to provincial/municipal preventive medicine centers, Pasteur Institutes or the Central Institute for Sanitation and Epidemiology for examination, analysis and determination of biological or chemical agents.

 Article 15. The preventive medicine centers, Pasteur Institutes and the Central Institute for Sanitation and Epidemiology, after receiving requests for examination, analysis and handling of biological or chemical agents, shall have to quickly receive samples, immediately carry out the examination and notify the requesting agencies of the results as soon as possible.

If doubting of the existence of microbes or the examination result is positive, the health agencies shall have to immediately carry out the disinfection, so as ensure the safety for the samples and scenes; and organize the medical examination for concerned people.

Article 16. When requested by competent agencies, transport enterprises and postal service enterprises shall have to give priority to the quick and safe transportation of the samples.

After the samples and scenes are disinfected by professional agencies or the examination results show that they are not related to biological or chemical weapons, the police offices shall quickly complete the examination and expertise, clear the scenes and return sent objects (if not related to cases to be further investigated or verified) to their owners.

The records on examination of sent objects and expertise of samples must be made and included in the dossiers thereof in service of the investigation and handling of the cases.

Article 17. After the results of inspection and expertise of biological or chemical agents have been obtained and the disinfection by professional agencies has been completed, the police offices shall have to carry out the expertise in order to determine the toxins or chemical components; carry out or guide the detoxication if there are dangerous toxins.

Article 18. The police offices shall have to guide the participating forces in handling and examining the samples so as to avoid adverse impacts on the detection and gathering of traces on sent objects. In parallel with the expertise, the police offices shall have to research and gather traces on sent objects or samples and have to immediately carry out professional as well as penal examination operations so as to investigate and make conclusions on the cases in accordance with law provisions.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 19. The ministries, branches and localities shall take initiative in estimating funding for the handling of sent objects containing strange substances and/or objects from the funding sources of the ministries, branches. For complicated cases which require funding in excess of the allocated amount for handling, the reports thereon must be made and submitted to the Prime Minister.

Annually, the Ministry of Finance shall have to sum up and report the proposals of the ministries and branches to the Government for approval and allocation of funding.

Article 20. The ministries, branches and provincial/ municipal People's Committees shall base themselves on their assigned functions, powers and tasks to work out specific guidance for the implementation of this Regulation.

Article 21. The police offices of various levels shall have to announce the addresses and telephone numbers of their standing bodies in charge of handling affairs defined in this Regulation so as to create convenience for people, agencies and units in the localities to contact them.

The Ministry of Public Security shall have to specifically guide, inspect, monitor and urge the implementation of this Regulation.

Article 22. In the course of implementation, if meeting with any difficulties or troubles, the ministries, branches and provincial/municipal shall have to promptly report them to the Prime Minister (through the Ministry of Public Security). The Minister of Public Security shall have to sum up such reports to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.