Ventilator donated to City hospital

The New Zealand-based Julie Ferne Memorial Trust donated a Newport e360 ventilator to the Children Hospital 2 in HCM City yesterday, making it the first medical equipment donation made by the Trust to the hospital.

The Preston family partnered with VinaCapital Foundation (VCF) to procure the ventilator and to ensure that the equipment will be used and maintained properly.

Since 2012, the Julie Ferne Memorial Trust has raised funds from around the world to advance pediatric care in HCM City, with a focus on helping child trauma sufferers.

Students test computing skills

As many as 400 Vietnamese students from 67 local colleagues and universities are taking part in the 23rd Olympics Computing for Students, which opened yesterday in HCM City.

Individual candidates will compete in several categories, including the Olympic Super Cup, computing study and open source.

Another contest, an international programmer contest, the Association for Computing Machinery-International Collegiate Programming Contest – Asian region, is also being held with 107 teams.

After the contest, the 10 top teams will travel to Thailand for the next round on November 13-15 which will choose candidates for the international competition to be held in Morocco next year.

Wild boar kills woman on rice farm

A wild boar attacked a woman on a rice farm in Pho Hoa commune in central Quang Ngai Province's Duc Pho district on Tuesday.

The victim, Pham Thi Hong Hanh, 39, was attacked by the boar while working on the farm in the morning, according to local police.

It's the first case known of a wild animal attacking a resident in the province, said deputy head of communal police, Nguyen Van Bang.

He said the boar was probably trying to escape from a hunting group in forest a few kilometres away.

Police bust online gambling ring

The members of an online gambling ring, who spent billions of dong betting on football matches, have been arrested by the Bac Tu Liem District police in Ha Noi.

The police announced this morning that they have also seized dozens of mobile phones, laptops and iPads from the spot.

The 11-member gang was led by Nguyen Anh Tuan, 25, of Co Nhue 2 Ward in the district.

According to the initial investigation, Tuan admitted to the police that he was operating two accounts on the 32bet.com website since July to accept bets from gamblers.

The case is under investigation.

Driver, assistant die as truck brakes fail

A truck fell into an abyss while crossing a mountain pass in the central province of Ninh Thuan's Ninh Son District on Monday, killing the driver and his assistant.

The accident was believed to be caused by brake failure.

The victims, both from the northern province of Binh Dinh, were carrying nine tonnes of farm produce from the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The case is under investigation.

Free car tests in road safety campaign

The fifth annual Road Safety Campaign will offer free car tests and traffic safety information to about 8,000 people in Ha Noi, HCM City and Da Nang.

Sponsored by French tyre manufacturer Michelin, the two-week campaign was organised in collaboration with the National Traffic Safety Committee.

It aims to reinforce key road-safety messages, especially for youth, in highly populated cities and provinces. As a follow-up, the Michelin Road Safety Comic will illustrate aspects of road safety for people of all ages.

Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Association makes debut

A congress was held in Hanoi on October 29 to establish the Vietnam-Philippines Friendship Association (VNPFA), the 111th member of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO).

The congress also elected a 29-member executive board led by Deputy Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development Vu Van Tam.

Speaking at the event, VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong stressed that the Vietnamese Party and State attach importance to strengthening the friendship and cooperation with Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines.

The establishment of VNPFA marks a new development in the friendship, cooperation and people-to-people exchange between the two countries, he said.

Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Jerril G. Santos said that bilateral cooperation, especially in economy and education, has developed fruitfully in recent years, with increasing numbers of Vietnamese studying and working in the Philippines and vice verse. Together with the launch of the Philippines-Vietnam Friendship Association in July 2014, the VNPFA is expected to bring the two countries’ relationship forward, he added.

Vietnamese, US trade unionists increase collaboration

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Dang Ngoc Tung held talks with President of the United Food and Commercial Worker International Union (UFCW) Joseph Hansen in Hanoi on October 29 to boost the partnership between the two countries’ trade unions.

Both sides introduced their respective unions’ structures and activities, and expressed their hope to increase cooperation in the field via delegation exchanges and sharing experience.

The host stated that the Law on Trade Union and the Law on Labour, approved by the National Assembly in June 2012, have brought the interests and rights to Vietnamese trade unionists.

The VGCL is accelerating the development of trade unions in businesses, especially private and foreign invested enterprises.

The confederation currently has over 8 million members.

HCMC hosts ACM Int’l Collegiate Programming Contest

The 23rd Vietnam Informatics Olympic Contest for Students (OLP’14) and the ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM/ICPC) in Asian region opened in Ho Chi Minh City on October 29.

The OLP’14 draws the participation of 400 Vietnamese students. It aims to honour talents and encourage researches and creativeness in the field of information technology-communication among Vietnamese students.

The ACM/ICPC in Asian region attracts 107 Vietnamese teams and 316 students. The best ten teams will fly to Thailand to attend the next qualifying round of ACM/ICPC in Asian region from November 13-15.

The ACM/ICPC 2015 World Finals will be held in Marrakesh (Morocco) next year.

The OCP’14 and ACM/ICPC held in Ho Chi Minh City are co-organized by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vietnam Computer Association, the Vietnam Students Association and Ho Chi Minh University of Industry.

The contests will last through to October 31.

Cambodian,Vietnamese localities establish twin relationship

Memoranda of understanding on the establishment of a twin relationship between southern Binh Phuoc province and its Cambodian neighbors of Kratie and Mondulkiri were recently signed in Binh Phuoc.

The documents provided a foundation for border villages to enhance the traditional friendship, defend the common borderline, combat cross-border crimes and stimulate the local economy.

Under the documents, Binh Phuoc's two villages are twined with Kratie’s localities and one with Mondulkiri’s.

Cambodian officials said they hope the documents will enable them to to share economic development experience with Binh Phuoc.

The signing of documents on the twin relationship among villages is set to transpire in November 2014.

Earlier in June, Binh Phuoc also signed partial memoranda of understanding with five Cambodian provinces of Kampong Cham, Kratie, Mondulkiri, Steung Treng and Tbong Khmum to step up cooperation across the board.

Gender equality crucial to development

Vietnam is well aware that gender equality is a basic human right which is both a national objective and an important factor to the socio-economic development, National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said at a meeting on gender equality in Hanoi on October 28.

Chairing the informal discussion group on gender equality, the legislator said the Vietnamese parliament has made great efforts in making policies and a legal framework that promote the implementation of human rights, gender equality and the eradication of violence against women. She noted that the 2013 Constitution designated a whole chapter on human rights, including those of women.

Vietnam also issued the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control, and a national target on gender equality, she added.

However, she admitted Vietnam has not met targets relating to women in elective agencies while the number of female NA deputies has decreased over the past decade.

In 1997, the country was among the ten countries with the highest percentage of women in parliament. However, it dropped to the 44th place in the world in 2012 with the percentage reducing to under 30 percent. The NA Vice Chairwoman added that the respective targets of 35-40 percent of seats in the NA and local People’s Councils occupied by women by 2020 are a real challenge.

Head of Vietnam’s Female NA Deputies Group Truong Thi Mai and Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Font’s Central Committee Vu Trong Kim pointed out the fact that voters tend to choose male candidates instead of women who have the same qualifications under the impact of the deep-rooted preference for men in the country.

United Nations Resident Coordinator Pratibha Mehta spoke highly of Vietnam’s attention to gender equality, which is manifested in the realisation of the UN Millennium Goal on reducing maternal and child fatality, the clear improvement of women’s educational level, and the country’s high commitment to carrying out the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Pratibha Mehta, who co-chairs the Informal Ambassadors and Heads of Agencies Coordination Group on Gender, suggested Vietnam include the percentage of women in elective agencies in its laws.

Vietnamese and foreign participants proposed measures to raise the number of women winning elections such as raising local officials’ awareness of the role of women, improving the capacity and the number of female candidates, and encouraging women to vote in elections.

US supports Thua Thien-Hue’s natural disaster response

The United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) has decided to provide Thua Thien-Hue province with communication equipment worth nearly VND4.6 billion to cope with natural disasters.

The provincial Natural Disaster Prevention Centre (NDPC) will install the equipment at its new facilities, which are currently under construction.

Earlier, in February 2014, the USPACOM also granted more than VND8.5 billion worth of non-refundable aid to the central province to build the NDPC.

The three-storey centre is being built in Hue City on an area of 900sq.m with many functional rooms. It is expected to be put into operation early next year, serving the province’s natural disaster prevention, fighting and mitigation in coming years.

Hanoi to host ASEAN great unity days

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) on October 28 announced the ASEAN great unity days are set to take place at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi from November 21-23.

The event themed “One Vision, One Identity, One Community” aims to introduce the culture of ASEAN member countries and strengthen mutual understanding and connectivity.

It also targets building an ASEAN community of solidarity, dynamism, peace and prosperity, to help Vietnam raise its role in enhancing ASEAN cooperation and introduce the rich cultural diversity of the nation’s 54 ethnic groups.

Under framework of the event, six main activities are planned, including an opening ceremony on November 21, hoisting ASEAN flag and a closing ceremony on November 23.

A gala and art performance for ASEAN countries to present their intangible cultural values are also planned, including Ca Tru (ceremonial singing), Quan Ho (traditional love duet singing) and Hue royal court music from Vietnam.

A host of other activities promoting ASEAN land, people, tourism, heritage and traditional sports are also on the agenda.

Huge amounts of personal data stolen, offered for sale in Vietnam

The personal data of hundreds of thousands of people has been stolen, classified, listed and then offered for sale on the Internet for up to US$1,650 per database.

An employee at an advertising company in Ho Chi Minh City recently received an email from a stranger that reads, “I am offering to sell lists of directors and high income earners nationwide, with their necessary personal information including their full names, fixed and mobile telephone numbers, facsimile numbers, emails, occupations, business lines, home and company addresses and more.”

The email included an attachment with a demo version of nearly 200 lists of millions of people working in various fields across the country.

Such lists are being publicly offered for sale online, but when Tuoi Trecorrespondents contacted the people in charge and asked to meet them, most refused and said deals should only take place online and payments should be made by bank transfer only.

However, a dealer named Nha agreed to meet Tuoi Tre at his home in Thu Duc District on October 23.

Nha, 25, showed your correspondents a series of lists of directors, mobile phone subscribers, bank deposit account holders, and shoppers who are members at supermarkets, among other details.

These lists include full basic information about the people named on them.

Notably, among the lists is one that includes 3,400 people with a savings account at a major bank, showing all of their deposits and the balance.

Nha said he had more than 130 lists updated annually to provide to his customers.

Lists are offered for sale at different prices, Nha said, adding that a list of savings account holders costs VND700,000  (US$33), while another list cost VND2 million ($94).

Nha, a college graduate, said he has engaged in “this line of business” for a year and has obtained the lists from people working at different firms including banks, companies and agencies.

Nha can earn VND7-8 million per month through selling personal information, he said.

Another seller of personal data reached by Tuoi Tre is Tuyen, 33, who worked at an insurance company for five years.

Tuyen, a resident in Hanoi,  said he owns 168 lists, including thousands of people with savings accounts living in 16 districts in HCMC, 6,700 directors in Hanoi, 9,700 CEOs in HCMC, 5,000 post-paid mobile phone subscribers, 197,000 Vittel subscribers in HCMC and thousands of VIP shoppers at trade centers.

He said all these lists were updated in April so the information is highly accurate. He added that his lists are updated every six months.

Like Nha, Tuyen offered his lists at different prices, from VND1.2 million ($56.5) to VND10 million ($470) per list.

Tuyen revealed that he had to pay staffers at the banks, companies and other entities who provided personal data from their organizations to him.

If they were caught stealing internal information they would be dismissed, Tuyen said.

Another dealer named Long told Tuoi Tre that he owned a database containing 600,000 postpaid mobile phone subscribers and another database of over 4,000 pre-paid cell phone subscribers.

Long offered to sell the postpaid subscriber list for VND7 million ($330), while he set the price of the latter one at VND35 million ($1,650).

He claimed to be a database administrator and affirmed that his lists were updated earlier this month and were 100 percent accurate.

These dealers of personal information have left many people whose date was stolen disturbed.

Purchasers of this stolen information have called or texted the people whose data they have to offer to sell them different things, including houses and phone numbers, or insurance products, among other cases.

People who steal and trade personal information can be sentenced up to seven years in prison, pursuant to Article 226 of the Vietnamese Penal Code,  said lawyer Nguyen Huu The Trach, from the HCMC Bar Association.

Under Article 38 of the Civil Code, an individual's rights to personal secrets shall be respected and protected by law, Trach said.

The collection and publication of information and materials on the private life of an individual must receive consent from that person; in cases where that person has died, lost his civil action capacity or is under fifteen years old, the consent of his/her father, mother, wife, husband, adult children or representative is required, except for cases where the collection and publication of information and materials are conducted through the decision of a competent agency or organization, he added.

Letters, telephone numbers, telegrams, and other forms of electronic information on an individual shall be safely and confidentially guaranteed, Trach said.

The inspection of an individual's letters, telephones, telegrams and/or other forms of electronic information may be performed only in cases where it is so provided for by law and decided by competent state agencies, the lawyer added.

Thanh Hoa’s airport ready for night flights

Passengers can take night flights to Tho Xuan airport in the northern province of Thanh Hoa from next month, instead of only flying in the daytime as currently, provincial authorities said.

Vuong Van Viet, Thanh Hoa’s deputy chairman, said aviation agencies are installing an automatic control system for airplanes to take off and land, as well as a light system that allows for night landings.

Apart from this investment, there will be two new air links between Thanh Hoa and the central coastal city of Danang and between Thanh Hoa and the Central Highlands city of Buon Ma Thuot.

“Airport infrastructure upgrades and forthcoming air services will make it more convenient for passengers to travel, thus helping the province attract more visitors,” Viet told a meeting held last week to introduce the National Tourism Year 2015 in Thanh Hoa.

Currently, Tho Xuan Airport serves Thanh Hoa-HCMC flights only. National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific operate 14 weekly services.

Viet said those flights have average seat occupancy of around 85-90%.

The National Tourism Year 2015 with the theme “Connecting World Heritage sites” will be opened in March next year with a series of cultural and tourism activities, with 15 other cities and provinces taking part.

Particularly in Thanh Hoa, tourism events will be held to attract 5-5.3 million visitors next year compared an estimated four million this year.

The 2014 National Robothon Contest is set to kick off in Ho Chi Minh City on November 1 with the participation of 62 teams from across the country, the HCM City Education and Training Department announced on October 28.

Under the theme “urban waste management”, contestants must use robots for waste transport and treatment. The best three teams will advance to the International Robotics Competition, scheduled for Malaysia at the end of next month.

The robothon competition, the second of its kind so far, aims to create a good playground for kids to apply information technologies and scientific advances in the spirit of creativity and teamwork.

Jetstar Pacific launches new air routes

The low-cost airline Jetstar Pacific launched its international flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore on October 27.

The new route will operate one daily return flight, which is scheduled to take off at 7:05am from Ho Chi Minh City and 11:05am from Singapore.

On the same day, the carrier also officially inaugurated a service using Airbus 320 aircraft between Hanoi and Vinh city, central Nghe An province, with a flight a day. This is Jetstar Pacific’s 11th domestic route in Vietnam.

Vietnam seizes 1 tonne of elephant tusks, 6kg of rhino horns

Customs officers in northern Vietnam on Monday confiscated nearly one metric ton of elephant tusks stashed in a container of rubber gloves imported from an unknown country/territory, and about six kilograms of rhino horns hidden in the luggage of a Vietnamese passenger.

The container was shipped to the northern city of Hai Phong onboard the Ability V.0011S vessel, which arrived at the Greenport in the city’s Hai An District on October 23.

As shown on the shipping documents, the container is part of a shipment of two containers of rubber gloves that were sent to Huy Tuan Joint Stock Company, located in Ha Long City, the capital of the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Customs officers inspected both containers and found elephant tusks in one of them, said Nguyen Sy Trang, deputy head of the Hai Phong City Customs Sub-Department.

Huy Tuan had earlier submitted to the agency a customs declaration for the import of two containers of rubber gloves, which would then be exported to a third country, Trang said, without naming the specific country from which the Vietnamese firm had imported the goods.  

The agency is coordinating with a Vietnam-based wildlife protection organization to identify the origin of the tusks and estimate their value, he added.

Vietnam has banned trade in ivory since 1992 to prevent the hunting of the Southeast Asian country’s dwindling population of elephants, which poachers value highly for their tusks.

The international trade in elephant tusks has been prohibited since 1989 after the population of the African giants sharply decreased to some 600,000 by the end of the 1980s from millions in the mid-20th century, AFP reported.

Also on Monday, customs officers at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi found rhino horns hidden in the luggage of a Vietnamese woman, 29-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoc Tu, who flew in from Bangkok.

After finding suspicious signs in Tu’s suitcases through scanning, customs officers decided to open them for examination and discovered many animal horns, suspected to be from rhinos, concealed inside.

Tu was questioned and she then admitted they were rhino horns, which weighed about 6kg in total.

The woman told customs officers that she was hired by a person in Bangkok to bring the horns to Hanoi.

Tu was handed over to Hanoi police for investigation, and police officers have taken samples of the horns for testing to trace their origin.

The total value of the horns is estimated at about VND4 billion ($188,120), police officers said.

The Vietnamese government recently issued a directive banning specimens of rhinos and several other wild animals from being traded, exported or imported.

Specifically, specimens of white and black rhinos and elephants, as well as products made from their horns, are banned. Any other animals included in the list of the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna are also not to be traded.

HCMC hosts week of listening to tax payers

Ho Chi Minh City Taxation Department and sub-departments in 24 districts have hosted a week of listening to tax payers from October 27 to November 2.

During the week, the department and 24 sub-departments arrange three to five officials at the most advantageous positions in front of their headquarters for answering tax payers' questions and complaints.

Businesses and residents can talk about difficulties they met in tax payment. Tax cadres will solve their difficulties in time or propose authorized agencies to consider solutions.

A direct dialogue will be organized so that tax payers can query tax officials about tax policies and related administrative procedures.

People can also send their questions via websites of the HCMC Taxation Department and media.

Health departments asked to supervise immunization campaign

The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health yesterday sent an urgent dispatch to its municipal and provincial sub-departments on strengthening supervision on free massive vaccination campaign.

The Department of Preventive Medicine issued the urgent dispatch after an incident of injecting distilled water instead of vaccine against measles and rubella at a preschool in the Mekong delta province of Dong Thap's . Medical workers have made mistake while administering the immunization.

The Department of Preventive Medicine ordered the departments of health to supervise whether medical workers follow the vaccination procedures issued by the Ministry of Health.  Only carefully trained medical workers are allowed to administer the injection.

Local health sector should coordinate with schools and authorities to encourage parents to take their children  for vaccination against measles and rubella; accordingly they should issue information of benefits of vaccination and explanation of possible side-effects of immunization. Experienced medical workers should supervise injection procedures as well as help treating cases of bad reactions soon.

Upon the incident in Dong Thap, Professor Tran Dac Phu , head of the Department of Preventive Medicine said no serious consequence was reported. Right after the incident was reported, medical workers from the Pasteur Institute in HCMC arrived in the preschool to examine the cases. Medical workers who made misstate have been tranfered to do other mission.

60 children who were injected with distilled water have been injected with measles and rubella vaccine soon under the supervision of staffs from the Department of Health in Dong Thap Province.

Therefore, the Ministry of Health asked local governments to ensure providing training to all medical workers who must examine children before injection.

Mo Lao awaits new water pipe system

The Fresh Water Business and Construction Investment Joint Stock Company (Viwaco) planned to rebuild the Construction-College residential building's water pipe system next month in Ha Dong District's Mo Lao Ward in Ha Noi.

Since early September, thousands of the building's residents have suffered tap water shortages. The water piping system from Da River to Ha Noi has repeatedly ruptured in recent months, causing interruptions in water supplies, said a company representative.

Each household will pay Viwaco VND4 million (US$188) to rebuild the water supply pipe system, but the amount will be refunded through discounts on water bills in the coming months.

Dao Thi Suu, a resident of the building, said her apartment went without tap water about one week per month for the past year.

The shortage disrupted the residents' daily lives, she said. Some went to live with relatives when the water was off, and others bought hundreds of metres of pipe to bring water from other places.

The ward's People's Committee worked with authorities to temporarily provide tap water for the residents until the pipe system was rebuilt, said Nguyen Van Long, the committee's chairman.

Ho Chi Minh City intensifies Ebola prevention efforts

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has instructed relevant sectors to continue to keep a close watch on the Ebola epidemic situation in West Africa and put response measures in place.

The Department of Health was asked to step up efforts to early address cases of exposure to the deadly virus which has affected 10,114 people and killed more than 4,900 so far.

It is, together with other agencies like the police and the Department of Tourism, undertaking the strict observation of those travelling from Ebola-hit regions for three weeks upon arrival.

Meanwhile, healthcare facilities were requested to be fully prepared for a potential outbreak, with regards to equipping treatment and isolation wards and providing sufficient personal protective gear for medical workers.

As the country’s largest economic and business hub that welcomes a large number of foreign visitors on a daily basis, the City has requested individuals coming in from Ebola-affected areas to undergo temperature measurement and declare their health status at international airports.

Ebola is spread through contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood.

To date, Vietnam has no reported cases of Ebola infections.

Bac Giang strives to protect Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve

A number of projects are being implemented in Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve in Son Dong district, northern Bac Giang province in a bid to protect and increase its biodiversity, which is representative of the northeastern region.

The projects aim to involve residents in environmental protection, improve the reserve’s infrastructure, and protect its rare flora and fauna species by 2020, at an estimated cost of 19 billion VND (905,000 USD), 55.6 billion VND (2.65 million USD) and 16 billion VND (762,000 USD), respectively.

Additionally, in 2015 a project will relocate residents to areas outside of the nature reserve at a cost of more than 3.6 billion VND (171,400 USD).

In 2010-2013, more than 37,170ha of forest were designated for protection by local residents, and more than 200ha of the buffer zone was reforested. In the same period, a number of international and domestic projects were implemented in an effort to protect and develop forests and biodiversity.

The Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve was established by Bac Giang’s Provincial People’s Committee on 22 July 2002 with the issuing of Decision No. 117/QD-UB.

The locality aims to expand the nature reserve to more than 12,172ha, with a 5,448ha core zone, nearly 6,524ha of ecological rehabilitation zone and a buffer zone of more than 6,618ha.

Dormant park plan stifles residents

Residents living in Tan Chanh Hiep ward in HCM City's district 12 have had to let the grass take over their vacant land for more than a decade.

About 100 families have been unable to take advantage of their legal property rights because of a plan by District 12 People's Committee in 2004.

The plan set aside 310 hectares for a public green park, including the land of the residents.

"The authorities said that my land was to be used for a park, but they have not done anything in the last 10 years," said resident Vo Van Ghe. "I wanted to rebuild my house as it is derelict, but they won't let me."

Ghe tried three times to build a small house for his newly married son on his 8,000 square metres of land, but authorities bulldozed them every time.

Another resident Do Van Tai said that authorities would not allow him to build a house or do any business on his land.

"I wanted to earn some money, so I asked the authorities to let me build a greenhouse to grow orchids. But they refused," he said. "All the banks turned down my loan requests to grow orchids as my land registrations showed that the land was planned for public use."

Resident Do Van Luu said his son could only earn VND5 million (US$240) a month to raise his family of four.

"I wanted to sell my 5,000 square metres, but no one dared to buy," he said. "I just hope that the Government implements the plan soon so that I can receive the compensation money."

HCM City Department of Planning and Architecture Vice Director Nguyen Thanh Toan said that the reason for the 10-year-delay in building the park was mainly a shortage of money.

He added that the plan was now actually under modification due to changes in the monorail route that runs through the ward.

"The department is still awaiting the new draft plan for the district to start evaluation work," said Toan.

Vice-head of District 12's Division of Urban Management, Luong Ngoc Oanh, admitted that the district was working on a new draft plan for the park but was unsure when it would be finished.

However, there is some hope. Toan said that in the meantime, the city had recently decided to support residents owning land taken for public use.

According to new construction regulations, residents that have land-use permits before their land is taken for public use can construct buildings to the maximum of three floors.

The city administration also insisted there be no indication the land was to be later set aside for public use so that residents could get loans from banks.

Dozens of petrol stations fined for cheating drivers

The provincial Market Watch Department will tighten the control of petrol stations to make sure they do not sell illegal fuel.

Deputy Director of Quang Nam's Market Watch Department, Le Cau, said that his department had warned and fined 64 fuel stations in 11 districts for cheating in September and October.

He said that petrol and oil were big money spinners for criminals.

Recently, a fuel station in Tuan Quyen's Nui Thanh district allegedly sold non-standard petrol.

Consumers said that they had difficulty starting their engines with the fuel.

Tests showed that its octane rating was well below standard.

The Deputy Director said his Department had proposed the provincial authority impose a fine of VND152 million (US$7,200) on Tuan Quyen gas station.

In addition, Quang Nam's Market Watch Department will make shopping centres, traders and producers promise not to sell products which are low-quality or from unknown-origin.

During the first 10 months of this year, Quang Nam's Market Watch Department has carried out 2,260 inspections throughout the province, completed 1,800 cases of trade fraud and claimed a total of VND4 billion ($190,476) for the State budget.

VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND