Construction of Ha Noi's first urban railway line resumes today

Construction of an elevated urban railway line connecting Dong Da District's Cat Linh Street and Ha Dong District's Yen Nghia Bus Station, both in Ha Noi, resumes today, Oct 10, after a period of delay.

The 13km line will link two of the most crowded areas in the city.

Investor Viet Nam Railway Administration deputy director general Nguyen Van Doanh said the railway would run overhead along Hao Nam and Nguyen Trai streets.

There would be 12 stations, plus a depot located in Phuc Luong Ward, Ha Dong District.

Twenty-three trains of four carriages each would operate on the line with a speed of up to 80kph, capable of carrying a combined total of 28,500 passengers per hour.

The US$550 million project has received preferential loans from China and will be built by China Railways for completion in 2015.

Doanh said Ha Noi would have eight urban railway lines by 2020 under the city's master plan. They would run either underground, on the surface or overhead with stations at strategic locations to link with local buses.

The urban railway network and express bus system would ease traffic congestion in the city, he said. The construction began last April.

Finance Minister awarded ACCA’s honourable member title

Photo: VOV

Minister Hue was the first Vietnamese and one of six people to have received the title since 1999.

Dean Westcott, ACCA president said Professor Hue has helped promote Vietnam’s efforts to improve the quality of human resources in the financial sector and achieve the international target for human resources in the financial accounting and auditing fields in Vietnam.

State General Auditor Professor Hue has actively contributed to laying a foundation for international cooperation on management, professional ethics development, research and training.

Before holding the post of Finance Minister, Professor Hue was State General Auditor.

ACCA is global body of professional accountants that has 424,000 trainees and 147,000 members from 170 countries over the world. It is the first professional association that has set up a representative office in Vietnam.

Old woman dies with cuts on neck

The police in the Central Highlands city of Buon Me Thuot are investigating the death of 68-year-old Tran Thi Be, who was found dead with many cuts on the neck in her home in Tu An Ward Saturday afternoon.

According to the police, a part of her house at 91 Dinh Tien Hoang Street is used as a health and beauty care facility of Be’s daughter, Doctor Thuy.

The death was discovered at 3 pm Saturday by an employee.

The anti-social crime police who was called to the scene found Be lying dead on her back, with many deep cuts on the neck that were covered with blood. There were also many other blood spots on and around her body.

The police examined the scene and conducted an autopsy on Be’s body.

Neighbors told the police that except for the working hours of the health facility, Be stayed alone in the house everyday.

The police said this might be a case of murder for robbery.

Hanoi, HCMC seize 166 bikes of illegal racers

Amidst arguments about whether illegal racers’ motorbikes should be destroyed or confiscated, the Hanoi and HCMC police reported they had seized 166 such motorbikes last month.

The Hanoi mobile police reported that they had handled many motorbike-racing cases in September, seizing about 150 motorbikes and prosecuting a number of racers.

In HCMC, the railway and road traffic police department seized 16 bikes in the same month. Illegal races in HCMC often occur from 10 pm to 6 am on Thursdays and Fridays, the department said.

Under prevailing regulations, motorbikes used in racers can be confiscated if they are owned by the racers, but they cannot be confiscated if they had been borrowed or hired from others, said Colonel Phan Van Hung, commander of the Hanoi mobile police force.

In order to eliminate illegal races, it is advisable to confiscate any racing vehicles, despite their origin, Hung suggested.

In addition, racers’ driving licenses must be revoked, fines on them must be heavier, and racers must be referred to local authorities for warning and education, Hung said.

As reported by Tuoi Tre, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang suggested destroying racing vehicles as a way to curb illegal street racers, while Nguyen Duc Nhanh, chief of the Hanoi police department, said these vehicles should be auctioned instead.

Nhanh said destroying these vehicles would be a big waste.

He recommended that racers’ cars or motorbikes should be auctioned off to donate proceeds to needy people and victims of natural disasters and Agent Orange.

Two National Assembly members, Tran Du Lich and Hoang Huu Phuong, agreed with Nhanh.

Racing vehicles have been auctioned for the past 10 years in the central city of Da Nang and such a policy has been proved effective so far, Lich said.

These vehicles should be auctioned and the proceeds thereof should be donated to flood-hit victims or used as rewards to people who contribute to prevent street crimes, Phuong said.

Man dies after being detained by police

24-year-old Huynh Thanh Thang died in Bu Dop District General Hospital in Binh Phuoc Province after being taken there by the district police who had been detaining him for his alleged involvement in a theft.

On the evening of October 7, Thang, who was a resident of Bu Dop District’s Thanh Binh Town, fainted at the district’s detention center and was taken to the hospital for treatment under police supervision, the police said.

At 9 pm on the same day, Thang died at the hospital’s emergency room and the police informed Thang’s family of his death.

Thang was detained on September 20 by the local police who suspected him to be involved in a theft of a statue. The police also detained three other people that day for investigation.

Thang’s relatives told the police that a friend of Thang’s gave him the statue to make up for a debt of VND2 million (US$960) that person had owed Thang. But the police found that the statute was a stolen asset.

An official from the district police confirmed with Tuoi Tre yesterday that Thang had indeed been detained for “stealing” and that he had a history of heart disease.

The police have conducted an autopsy on Thang’s body and are investigating the cause of his death, the official said.

A similar case happened in neighboring Binh Duong Province in April.

Nguyen Cong Nhut, 30, who was then a storekeeper of Kumho Tire Co. Ltd. in Ben Cat District, was found dead in the custody of the local police.

Nhut was detained on April 21 as a suspect in a theft of 6,600 car tires at the company. Four days later, he was found hanging dead in a room at the police office.

After many investigations, the police have yet to reach an official conclusion about Nhut’s death.

Vietnam awarded seven certificates at WorldSkills London

Vietnam has received seven Certificates of Excellence at the 41st WorldSkills London held in UK.

Accordingly, Vietnam was placed 23^rd among 48 countries and territories. Le Thi Thuy Duong, who took part in the web design event, won the highest score (520/600) for the Vietnamese team.

Vietnam’s average mark was 498.3 points, higher than Malaysia, Indonesia, Belgium and the Netherlands.

The Republic of Korea topped the list with its average mark of 530 points, it was followed by China with 524 points.

The event had attracted 1,000 contestants aged 17-22 who competed in 46 events from October 5-8.

Traffic police step up vehicle inspections

Many motor vehicles are discovered to violate safety technical regulations including those that have just been verified, according to a source from the Long An Road Traffic Police Office.

This discovery was the initial result of a campaign jointly launched by the Road Police Department and Viet Nam Auto Register (VAR) to intensify the control over violations of vehicle technical safety regulations, at the request of Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

The campaign started last Friday at the Long An Province section of the HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway that links the city with Tien Giang Province.

The Long An Province's Road Police Office and a mobile technical-safety inspection station took part in the campaign.

On that day, the police discovered 39 autos that did not meet safety technical standards. Nonetheless, many vehicles had been inspected recently.

A verification worker said several vehicles that had been inspected only three or five days ago were discovered to have technical problems related to safety.

Captain Le Hoang Tung from the Long An Road Traffic Police Office said that all the violators would be penalised and vehicle owners would not be allowed to use their vehicles until the latter were repaired and met all safety standards.

Ngo Ngoc Son, deputy head of the VRA's Motor Vehicle Technical Safety Inspection Office, said according to current regulations, vehicle owners and drivers must maintain these standards between the two inspection times.

However, vehicle technical safety inspection offices still had a right to examine vehicles on the roads without informing in advance, Son said.

Tipper hit 6 cars, injuring 2

Two passengers were seriously injured when a tipper collided with a taxi and 5 other cars on Nguyen Van Linh street, Ho Chi Minh city Saturday afternoon.

The six vehicles included a Vinasun taxi with a number plate 51A-01657 and five private cars with number plate 50Z-7462, 51A-17866, 51A-01414, 60S-4993 and 61LD-3427.

The taxi and truck’s drivers were also slightly injured and taken to a nearby hospital.

The truck, which was heading for Tan Thuan Industrial Zone from Binh Chanh district hit the cars when it was nearing the crossing of Nguyen Van Linh and the road leading to Tan Thuan Bridge in District 7.

The accident left the Vinasun taxi badly damaged.

Trucks ‘certified as safe’ are found unsafe

Within the first day of a national campaign to control technical safety of various automobiles, 39 trucks traveling on an expressway in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday were found to be unsafe, although they were mostly certified as safe and issued safety stamps just several days ago.

The campaign was jointly launched by the Road Traffic Police Department and the Vietnam Register Department to tighten control over technical safety of automobiles nationwide, under a directive from Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.

It kicked off yesterday in Ho Chi Minh City with a mobile checkpoint set up on the HCM City-Trung Luong expressway, which links the city to the southern province of Tien Giang, to inspect suspicious vehicles.

Of the 39 trucks found to be unsafe, many had obtained safety stamps, which were granted by registration agencies as a certification for vehicles’ technical safety, traffic police said.

For example, the 54Z-7312 truck, which was granted a safety stamp on September 30, was found unsafe in its brake and wheel, a registrar said.

Similarly, the 49H 5077, 62L 0500 and 62C 00613 trucks did not meet technical requirements for their tires, brakes and wheels, although they obtained safety stamps in the period from September 15 to 29, the registrar added.

The drivers of unsafe trucks signed penalty reports about their vehicle’s technical faults and were required to correct them as soon as possible, Captain Le Hoang Tung informed.

Next week, another inspection will be carried out in Tien Giang, said Ngo Ngoc Son, deputy head of the motorized vehicle register division of the Vietnam Register Department.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre