VietNamNet Bridge – The environmental police force of Hai Duong province seized more than two tons of fresh octopuses for lacking quarantine certificates. Not being preserved in the right way, the octopuses decomposed. The police had to pay VND650 million ($33,000) compensation.

The truck carrying over two tons of octupuses.

According to the owners of the octopus batch, on the night of May 27, the truck carrying over two tons of octopuses from Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi to Quang Ninh province was stopped by the traffic police of Hai Duong Province for inspection. Seeing the octopus shipment, they informed the environment police force.

The environment police force seized the truck for the reason of “having no quarantine certificates and certificates of origin.”

The truck driver asked the police to make a minute of the custody and the status of goods but the police denied. The driver, therefore, did not sign the minute.

At about 4 pm on May 28, the police asked the driver to sign the minute and take back the truck and the goods, but the driver did not agree because the octopus died and were decomposed since the goods were not preserved in the right way.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Trong Thai - Deputy Chief of the Environment Police of Hai Duong Province said in the minute handwritten by Lt. Col. Thinh, chief of the environment police team No. 4 at 1.30am on May 28, the police asked the driver to be responsible to preserve the octopus shipment.

It is ridiculous that the batch of octopuses was kept in a hired warehouse but the environment police requested the owner of the shipment to preserve the goods. Consequently, the entire shipment was decomposed completely.

The owners of the shipment said that Hai Duong police illegally seized the goods because under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s regulations: seafood is not required for quarantine if it does not originate from the infected areas. The batch of octopuses came from HCM City while this city did not announce any disease in octopuses.

They claimed compensation of nearly VND1 billion from the Hai Duong environment police agency.

The case has attracted public attention. General Tran Dai Quang, Minister of Public Safety, asked the Director of Hai Duong Provincial Police Agency to report of the incident and instructed the Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Public Security to clarify it before June 15.

On June 11, Colonel Cao Ngoc Lan - Deputy Director of Hai Duong Provincial Police - led a mission to Ho Chi Minh City to work with the owners of the octopus shipment. After several hours of dialogue, Hai Duong Police agreed to pay compensation of VND650 million.

In the evening of the same day, Hai Duong Police transferred the money to the fishermen who owned the octopus shipment.

Colonel Lan said the compensation was paid immediately. He said he borrowed the money from his friends in HCM City.

The responsibility of individuals in this case will be clarified later. Who made the wrong things must pay compensate by their own money.

Phuong Hang