Director of Japanese-owned firm in Vietnam arrested over fake fire extinguishers

The provincial police said on Saturday evening that they had initiated criminal proceedings against Hoai and arrested him on charges of manufacturing and trading counterfeit goods.

Phan Bach Thong, Hoai's younger brother and executive director of the company's branch in Quang Ninh Province, was also detained and prosecuted on the same charges.

The arrests followed an investigation after detectives discovered that several portable powder fire extinguishers bearing the Tomoken brand and sold in Phu Tho showed signs of being fake.

According to investigators, Hoai and Thong had purchased monoammonium phosphate (MAP), ammonium sulfate (SA), quartz powder (SiO₂), silica powder, silicone oil, and coloring powder, which they mixed in arbitrary ratios without scientific basis to produce a chemical mixture falsely labeled as fire-extinguishing powder.

The mixture contained a high proportion — about 54 percent — of quartz powder, a substance with no fire-extinguishing properties, which they used to cut costs and increase profits.

Hoai reportedly oversaw all business operations, while Thong was in charge of the chemical mixture formula and prepared detailed instructions for factory workers to mix the materials, fill the extinguishers, and distribute them under the Tomoken brand.

Preliminary findings show that since 2023, Tomoken Fire Vietnam has sold more than 2.2 million fire extinguishers of various types, including powder, foam, and gas models, earning over VND834 billion (around $33 million) in revenue.

Among them, counterfeit powder fire extinguishers accounted for more than 1.64 million units, generating revenues of over VND527.6 billion ($20 million), according to Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper.

An assessment by the Criminal Science Institute under the Ministry of Public Security confirmed that all 36 seized samples of Tomoken fire extinguishers — 16 six-kilogram and 20 eight-kilogram models — failed to meet national technical standards and were ineffective against Class B fires.

Phu Tho police said they are expanding their investigation into the large-scale counterfeiting case.

Established in September 2014, Tomoken Fire Vietnam is a 100-percent Japanese-invested company specializing in manufacturing and trading fire prevention and firefighting equipment, according to its website.