VietNamNet Bridge - Some fishermen and their families in the southern province of Kien Giang on September 22 met with lawyers in HCM City to file a lawsuit against the Thai Coast Guard for shooting local fishermen, killing one and injuring two others, reported Dan Tri online newswire.

The injured fisherman Nguyen Hung Cuong. Photo: Dan Tri

The HCM City-based Ha Hai Law Office has promised to cover legal costs and help fishermen in the case.

"I hope the attorney and the state agencies will help me reclaim justice for the unjust death of my husband,” Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, the widow of fisherman Ngo Van Sinh, who was shot dead by Thai coast guards on September 11 told Tuoi Tre Newspaper.

Sinh was the mainstay of the family, with one daughter, an 8th grader, and a son, an 11th grader.

Lying on a hospital bed of the Kien Giang General Hospital with his broken right leg, fisherman Nguyen Hung Cuong told Tuoi Tre Newspaper that when his boat was chased and attacked by the Thai Police 528 ship, the fishing boat was completely in Vietnamese waters.

On September 22, Cuong was moved from the Kien Giang General Hospital to the HCM City Trauma-Orthopedics Hospital.

Phuong and Cuong have asked the Ha Hai Law Office to take legal proceedings against the Thai Coast Guard to claim compensation.

Thailand to investigate fatal shooting

Fisherman Tran Vang Sang with a wound on his leg.

Minister Counsellor Pham Thanh Nam at the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand met Thailand Police’s Public Affairs Division director Major-General Apichart Suribunya in Bangkok on September 21 to discuss the recent fatal shooting of Vietnamese fishermen at sea.

The Minister Counselor expressed deep concern over the issue during the meeting, saying that the use of force violated international law and demanded that Thailand promptly investigate and punish all individuals involved in the shooting.

He also requested Thailand to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

Major-General Apichart Suribunya, who is also Thailand’s Interpol Director, said Thailand was seriously looking into the incident with a special task force to be set up for the investigation.

He said that Thailand would investigate the case in an open and transparent manner and ensure that those determined to be guilty will be tried in accordance with the law.

The Thai government will inform the Vietnamese Government about the outcomes of the investigation as soon as possible.

On September 17, Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a diplomatic note requesting Thai authorities verify the incident and take strict measures against those involved in breaking the law.

The same day, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh also asked Thailand to scrutinize the case as well as adequately compensate for the human and property losses of Vietnamese fishermen, and prevent the recurrence of such incidents, which can negatively affect the two countries’ strategic partnership - VNA