Two days after they were outclassed 5-0 by Thailand in the semi-finals, Indonesia were again short of ideas and lacked drive as Vietnam took advantage of basic errors to race into a 4-0 halftime lead at a largely empty National Stadium.
Mac Hong Quan opened the scoring with a 17th-minute penalty before Vo Huy Toan produced two left-footed strikes and Nguyen Huu Dung prodded home a fourth goal just before halftime.
Skipper Que Ngoc Hai turned in a fifth in the 71st minute to complete the misery for the twice champions who face uncertainty about whether they will even be back to compete in two years time.
Last month Indonesia were banned for an unspecified period by world soccer's ruling body FIFA for government interference in the local football association.
The row had already brought a halt to the domestic leagues and meant the country were booted out of the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The SEA Games under-23 squad were allowed to compete in Singapore as the tournament had already started when FIFA made its decision but head coach Aji Santoso said the strain had been too much.
"After the SEA Games all the players don't know what they will do," he told reporters as he also lamented having only 20 days of preparation.
"Mentally the FIFA suspension has an influence.
"I don't know how long FIFA will suspend Indonesia. I hope the case is cleared as soon as possible. I'm very disappointed for the players, they don't understand what to do now."
Hot favourites Thailand, 14-times champions, take on Myanmar in the gold medal match later on Monday.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez)
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