The Ministry of Public Security has told all city and provincial police chiefs to review the work of traffic police. The police recently came under fire in media reports.

The reports claimed that many traffic police commit serious violations of the law, such as accepting bribes, ignoring the police code of ethics, and displaying other unacceptable behaviour that seriously damaged the reputation of police.

The ministry has asked all police departments to investigate the accuracy of the media reports and punish any police found guilty. This can include being sacked.

Nguyen The Bau, the ministry's chief inspector and acting head of the ministry's steering committee to prevent corruption, said police chiefs across the country constantly examined alleged violations committed by police.

This included strictly prohibiting asking for bribe money from traffic offenders.

Bau also said police departments should provide the public with hotline numbers to allow them to report corruption cases.

The ministry also said it would intensify spot inspections at several localities as part of continuing efforts to prevent police corruption.

VNS