The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism imposed a fine on the producer of film “Apartment No. 69” VND10 million (USD476) for its containing sexually provocative scenes.
A poster of Apartment No. 69
The producer, Nguyen Thanh Nam, or Nam Cito, will be fined for showing the film without approval for being shown in public places. Even though the film was uploaded and became popular using social media, the regulation used to fine him had to do with the advertising or showing of this type of material in public places.
A DTiNews reporter tried to contact the producer, but he refused to comment at this time, saying only that he did not want to attract more attention to the case.
Earlier, Nam Cito has made statements to the press concerning the movie. He said that the negative reactions by governmental ministries tired and discouraged him, creating a situation in which he could not think of any other viable artistic projects.
The "film" was actually meant to be a series, and was released on June 5 on Youtube. It was self-rated as "18+" and attracted millions of viewers.
On June 20, in response to the public outrage, the Condemnatory Department issued an order requiring the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Inspectorate to take measures to deal with the video. The order claimed that the movie violated law on cinema and that it was released without licenses from state management agencies.