Woman gets 4 years for kidnapping baby

The Hanoi People’s Court yesterday, April 9, sentenced 30-year-old Nguyen Thi Le, a native of Bac Giang Province, to 4 years in jail for abducting a two-old-day baby boy from his mother at an obstetrics hospital in Hanoi last November.

Baby boy Pham Van Truong was rescued and returned to his parents on November 8, 2011. (Photo: Tuoi Tre)
Since the boy’s parents, who are from Hung Yen Province, did not claim damages for expenses related to the search for the boy, the court only forced Le to compensate them with VND24.9 million (US$1,200) for mental anguish.

According to the indictment from the prosecutor’s office, Le came to the Central Obstetrics Hospital on November 3, 2011, stole a nurse’s uniform from a clothesline, and put it on. She than entered the obstetrics ward where she found 35-year-old Tran Thi Thom holding her baby.

Pretending to be a nurse, Le told Thom that the baby needed a blood test. Thom gave her son, Pham Van Truong, to the “nurse” without thinking. But more than an hour later she began to worry since the woman had not returned.

After searching for the baby four hours in vain, the hospital reported the case to the Hoan Kiem District police.

Meanwhile, Le left the hospital with the baby and took a taxi to a house in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District where her husband’s family lived. She lied to the family, saying that the baby was hers.

On November 8, following a tip-off from Nguyen Xuan Viet, a taxi driver of Tuan Linh Company who had driven Le to Dong Anh, the police seized her and recovered the boy.

The baby was returned to Thom and her husband, Pham Xuan Chieu, the same day.

Explaining her motive for the crime, Le told the police that after several years of marriage and much effort at getting herself pregnant, her first baby was stillborn. Devastated, she then planned to steal a newborn from another couple.

Vice President welcomes outstanding Laotian students

Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan has praised the Vietnamese language skills of Laotian students who are studying in Vietnam as well as their academic achievements which have improved over last year.

At a meeting with 50 excellent Laotian students in Hanoi on April 9, Doan said that Vietnam is willing to support Laos in its national construction and development, especially human resource development.

She asked the students to foster their sense of solidarity and strive to acquire practical experience.

The Vice President presented VND100 million (US$4,800) to the Lao Embassy’s scholarship fund to support disadvantaged students.

Raising nearly VND2 billion for disabled people and orphans

Businesses and benefactors in the Central Highland province of Kom Tum has pledged to donate nearly VND2 billion to disabled people and orphans at a “trai tim nhan ai” (kind-hearted) exchange on April 8.

The exchange was held in Kon Tum City by the Association for Sponsorship of Disabled People and Orphans, the Radio and Television Station, the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Participants had the chance to talk with disadvantaged children and orphans who have difficulty integrating into the community, as well as with benefactors and charitable organizations.

In recent times, thousands of disadvantaged children and orphans in the province have been provided with free surgery services, accommodations, books and notebooks and bicycles.

Seminar looks at better cash aid programmes

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) in coordination with the World Bank and UNICEF hosted a seminar on April 9 in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong, to share their experiences in implementing programmes to provide money to poor children.

The seminar attracted representatives from eight provinces that have similar programmes, including Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Tra Vinh, Ha Giang and Lao Cai.

According to the organising board, besides sharing their experiences, reviewing and evaluating the implementation of policies related to funding in Vietnam and in particular provinces, they aim to create effective funding programmes for children, which is the main purpose of the seminar.

Participants at the seminar discussed and recommended measures such as ways of identifying programmes’ subjects, updating and managing lists of children in need, specific methods of assistance and the best way of assisting poor children, particularly those from minority ethnic groups.

MOLISA Deputy Minister Nguyen Trong Dam said that the ministry has applied many social welfare policies to support poor people in the past, however, they have not been effective enough.

He said overlapping policies, plus shortcomings in implementing processes are among the main reasons for the poor results, which need changing dramatically.

Recently, the Prime Minister ratified a cash aid project for children under 16 with ODA funds in the eight aforementioned provinces for 2013-2015, therefore the seminar should help the province to carry out the project more effectively.

Border guards catch drug trafficker suspect

Border guards in central Ha Tinh Province, in co-operation with Lao police, yesterday arrested a suspected drug trafficker after a two-day investigation that led to the confiscation of one tonne of marijuana and 39 cakes of heroin.

On Saturday, Vietnamese border guards and Lao police stopped a car in Laos' Bolikhamxay Province and found the marijuana as the accused trafficker fled the scene.

One day later, the trafficker was arrested with the heroin. A car with Lao plates was also seized.

The case is under investigation.

Fake impotence medicine found in HCMC

The Ho Chi Minh City-based representative office of Singapore’s Bayer (South East Asia) Pte Ltd has reported to the Drug Administration of Vietnam that it has discovered fake medicine bearing its trademark in the city.

After receiving the information, the DAV has sent a notice to the city Health Department, DAV said.

The representative office reported that Levitra (vardenafil monohydrochloride trihydrate) 20 mg, lot: BXB8551, expired in 2005 after it had been used legally in the UK as a medicine for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (impotence).

However, it has recently appeared on the market in some countries, including Vietnam, the office said.

The fake medicine does not contain the active ingredient vardenafil, and on its packaging there are signs that are different from those on the packaging of the real medicine, the office noted.

Bayer (South East Asia ) Pte Ltd operates as a subsidiary of Bayer AG, a chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in Barmen (today a part of Wuppertal), Germany in 1863.

Australia presents ophthalmic equipment to Vietnam

The South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology (SAIO) and the Sight for All (SFA) Foundation have presented ophthalmic equipment worth nearly US$52,000 to the Vietnam National Institute of Ophthalmology (VNIO).

Speaking at the donation ceremony in Hanoi on April 9, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen emphasized that in recent years, the ophthalmologic sector, and particularly VNIO, have made great strides in eye care and treatment thanks to the significant support it has received from the Ministry of Health and international organizations, including the SAIO and SFA. These gifts are very meaningful for Vietnamese eye patients.

Xuyen said she hopes that eye care and blindness prevention prorgammes in Vietnam will continue to receive support from the international community in the future.

Michael Hammerton, an SAIO doctor said it is difficult to detect some eye diseases early and provide timely treatment for patients without modern equipment. The SAIO is presenting this gift of equipment to VNIO with the aim ò improving the quality of communal eye care services.

SAIO has recently sent a number of experts and doctors to work with Vietnamese colleagues and help train Vietnamese eye doctors and nurses, especially in the field of pediatric ophthalmology.

The Australian ambassador to Vietnam, Allaster Cox, said eye care and blindness prevention is very important. The modern equipment donated by the SAIO will help improve the efficiency of eye care services, thereby contributing to raising lthe quality of life for local people. He added that the gift also demonstrates the close cooperation between Australia and Vietnam.

According to VNIO Director Do Nhu Hon, VNIO and SAIO have carried out a number of cooperative activities since September 2010, including training doctors, conducting research and organizing seminars.

In the future, both sides will continue boosting cooperation in training, technology transfer, scientific research and communal eye care.

Danang hosts 45th APEC TEL meeting

The 45th Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Telecommunications and Information Working Group (TEL) meeting is taking place in the centre of Danang city from April 9-11.

The aim is to prepare documents which will be submitted to the 9th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Telecommunications and Information Industry (TELMIN) to be held in St. Petersburg from August 6-8.

Addressing the opening session, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Thanh Hung pointed out difficulties that the telecommunication and information technology sector has to overcome to create a safe and reliable computer network, a comprehensive legal framework and favorable conditions for economic integration.

Participants in the meeting focused on discussing and finding effective solutions to cope with each country’s situation.

They highlighted APEC TEL’s new projects and initiatives introduced by three steering groups namely the Liberation Steering Group (LSG), the Security and Prosperity Steering Group (SPSG) and the Development Steering Group (DSG).

As part of the event, a number of conferences on telecommunications, information technology, internet security, emergency telecommunication, competitive policies for handicapped people will also be held.

80 percent of vendors in Da Nang are outsiders

Eighty percent of vendors, beggars and shoe polishers in Da Nang come from outside of the city, making the situation difficult to manage and handle, Nguyen Thi Thu Huong of the city’s Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs said in an interview with Tuoi Tre last Sunday.

From reporter’s observation last Sunday morning, vendors did not bother tourists visiting the area round the Trung Vuong Theater, Cham museum, or Linh Ung pagoda.

However, when foreigners arrived at the statue park near the Han River to take pictures, some women appeared and insisted that they buy a souvenir. As tourists crossed the street and went to the Han market, the vendors followed them.

Although security guards patrol the area and signs banning vendors are put up, no one intervened to help the tourists.

After a month of handling vendors and beggars, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has discovered and given warning on almost 200 cases. Among those cases, 128 immigrant vendors have been encouraged to go back to their hometown, and 50 wanderers and beggars were sent to the center of social affairs.

Huong said they have set up a hotline to handle vendors and beggars. The city has also created a team to receive and handle information provided by locals 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Three patrol teams work on the streets and around tourist sites to spot and remove vendors and beggars.

Death sentence for female drug dealer

The HCM City People's Court sentenced the leader of a drug trafficking ring to death yesterday for illegally trading drugs.

Under the indictment, HCM City Police caught Le Thi Thu Thao, 30, and accomplices, Pham Thi Hien, 49, of An Giang Province, and Tran Ngoc Thinh, 25, of HCM City, illegally trafficking drugs on September 1, 2010.

Hien and Thinh received life sentences for their involvement in the crime, while 10 others received between four and 20 years in prison. Thao was found guilty of being in possession of three kilos of drugs and more than 170 grams of heroin.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre