VietNamNet Bridge – Nguyen Ba Thanh, the Head of the Central Commission for Internal Affairs, died at noon on February 13 after several months of treatment in Singapore, the US and Vietnam for marrow disorder.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Thanh.

At around 12.40pm, Thanh was transferred from the Hospital of Da Nang City to his home Immediately hundreds of people gathered in front of his house. The police arrived few minutes later to ensure order.

Ms. Tran Thi Ut, a neighbor who had helped clean Thanh’s house before he returned home, said that at about 1pm, the family decided to stop breathing machine that was keeping him alive.

This morning, after paying a visit to the Da Nang Hospital, local authorities said that doctors were trying their best to save Thanh.

Two days ago, Thanh fell into a coma and all of his blood-related functions were diagnosed as poor. The red blood cells and platelets decreased and there were signs of bleeding.

Since Thanh’s return home from the US last month, he had been examined 29 times by leading medical experts and had blood dialysis twice.

Born in 1953, Thanh served as Chairman and Party Secretary of Da Nang before being appointed as the chief of the Central Commission for Internal Affairs, an anti-corruption agency of the Central Party Committee, in December 2012. 

Local people gather in front of Thanh's house in Da Nang City.

His statement "saying is doing" is supported and trusted by the people, who expected Thanh’s positive contribution to the fight against corruption when he assumed the position of head of the Central Home Affairs Committee in late December 2012.

Working in Hanoi, Thanh is still a member of the National Assembly delegation of Da Nang. At the 8th session of the National Assembly in October, he was absent due to medical treatment.

He was discovered with marrow disorder last May and was treated in Singapore and the US.

On January 9 Thanh returned home to continue treatment at the Da Nang Hospital. His health was then assessed as stable.

Thanh’s work at the Central Commission for Internal Affairs has been assumed by the commission’s vice chief Phan Dinh Trac.

Tran Cham