3,000th open heart patient receives free operation 

The city's Association for Poor Patients, which assists free surgery to heart patients, has provided free operation for the 3,000th cardiac.

A three-year-old child, Tran Nguyen Ngoc Thanh Van, who comes from a low-income family in HCMC's suburban district Nha Be, was the 3,000th heart patient. She was suffering a congenital heart disease.

However, because of her economic circumstances, she received no medical treatment for her condition.

Through sponsorship and financial support from the U.S. Consulate General in HCMC, the toddler underwent a free open-heart surgery on December 6. The operation was performed at the Heart Hospital ‘Tam Duc’ in district 7.

The operation was a success and now her health condition is stable and has been discharged from hospital.

During her time in hospital, Mr. Tran Thanh Long, SSPP’s president and Mr. Le Thanh An, the US Consul General in HCMC, visited the sick child and gave her gifts.

SSPP and their benefactors have sponsored over 3,000 children with heart disease in Vietnam for the last four years. The total expenditure for these operations have been over VND150 billion (US$75,000).

Copycat teens fail in ATM heist, nabbed

Police early Thursday caught red-handed three boys in mid teens using a welding device to cut open an ATM machine in Vinh City in the central Nghe An province.

Pham Duc Chinh, 15, Phung Bao Quoc and Pham Doan Hung, both 14, were attempting the theft on Nguyen Sy Sach Street when they were arrested on the spot. The booth belongs to the Saigon Commercial Bank.

The three ninth-graders from Doi Cung Secondary School confessed they planned the heist upon hearing that thieves successfully broke into a cash machine in Ho Chi Minh City down south and managed to take away VND1.3 billion (US$66,600) last month.

They then googled to study ATM’s designs and structures; toured the city to spy on security guards and their routines around ATM booths.

Quoc pawned his bicycle to buy a welding device and a wire cutter.

After entering the cubicle, they sprayed paint on the glass door to cover themselves and started to shut down power and cameras with the wire cutter.

But their plan was foiled by six police officers and security guards.

On Nov 26, thieves broke open an ATM machine in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Phu District and stole VND1.3 billion.

Previously, on October 21, they took away VND822 million ($42,000) from a cash machine on Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh District.

The same day, three thieves attempted to crack open an ATM on Truong Chinh Street, also in HCMC but fled the scene after being caught by security officers.

Wasps bite kids to death

Two kids died Sunday from more than 100 wasp bites after they accidentally touched a nest while plucking tamarind in the southern province of Bac Lieu’s Dong Hai Commune.

Vo Dang Khoa, 10, and Huynh Ngoc Thoi, 11, and their grandmother Huynh Thi Ngoan, who rushed to their rescue to chase the wasps away, were immediately hospitalized but the two kids died one hour later.

Ngoan has been discharged from hospital.

A relative said they got bitten after poking the wasps’ nest with a twig.

There are mainly two types of wasps, the social and the solitary ones. Social wasps sting and their venom is very dangerous. Solitary wasps do not make nests.

Woman gets life for selling state-owned $13 mln mansion

A Hanoi court Tuesday sentenced a woman to life imprisonment for selling a state-managed house for over US$13 million.

Dinh Thi Hai, 55, of Hai Ba Trung Ward, Ha Noi, was also ordered to pay VND11 billion in compensation to her victims.

As indicted, the house located at 36B Tran Hung Dao, Hoan Kiem Ward previously belonged to Hai’s aunt and her French husband Moukarabekhan.

After they migrated for France in 1954 and left the house unattended, the mansion was transferred to the state for management under the then regulation.

To facilitate the sale, Hai had faked documents including authorization and transfer papers, land lot survey map, and clearance announcements.

She succeeded in cheating some into purchasing the house for $13.2 million. From June 2007 to March 2008, they transferred Hai $1 million and VND200 million.

After no progress was made, the gullible customers became suspicious and informed the police.

But Hai only returned VND5 billion.

Meanwhile, the house has been marked to be cleared for a new facility for the State Treasury.

Southern hub to offer tourism discounts

Domestic and international visitors to Ho Chi Minh City between December 19 and Jan 9 will enjoy minimum 5-10 percent discounts at amusement parks, shopping centers, restaurants, hotels, and travel agencies.

This is part of a program introduced by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to mark the 3-millionth tourist who is expected to land on HCMC this month.

Many state and private firms have joined in and will duly slash prices.

The number of visitors to HCMC last month topped 250,000, a 38 percent rise over the same period last year, taking this year’s 11-month figure to 2.85 million.

The Department also plans to introduce 27 events next year to promote the city’s tourism industry, most of which will be locally held. Five of the events will take place abroad, including the ASEAN tourism platform in Cambodia, the MATKA tourism expo in Finland, the AIME tourism event in Australia, and a road show in the Northern Europe and Cambodian markets.

The metropolitan city expects to welcome 3.5 million visitors and rake in VND49 trillion (US$2.45 billion) next year.

Two fined for fake 911 calls

Two men from the southern Binh Duong Province was fined VND15 million (US$770) in total on Tuesday for making fake emergency 133 calls - Vietnam’s 911 - to intimidate, insult, or even threaten officers.

Previously, they nabbed Nguyen Dung Phuong Thanh, 26, and Thach Phung, 14, by using a positioning device to zero in on their locations.

The two had used their mobile phones to make the calls at midnight or dawn since last Friday.

They have confessed they made the calls, the police said, but did not reveal their motive.

Two school stabbings occurred last week  

Three students from a Ho Chi Minh City school were rushed to hospital Saturday after a fight involving knives at the school, VnExpress said Sunday. 

Cao Minh Quan, 16, Le Kim Nghia, 15, and Tran Xuan Thien, a tenth grader, were treated for severe lascerations to their heads and shoulders.

Police have seized four knives, each around 40 centimeters long, and an iron bar with a sharpen end that resembles a harpoon.

Police say that a group of students including Quan and Nghia tried to attack Nguyen Manh Cuong, an eleventh grader at the school, on Friday but they were discovered by local police.

On Saturday, the group approached Cuong once more time and Thien intervened to protect Cuong.

Police said the involvement of many students made the fighting rather chaotic and resulted in numerous injuries.

Meanwhile, a student in the northern province of Thanh Hoa was attacked on the street on Thursday.

Vu Van Tuan Anh, who remained in hospital throughout Saturday night, said he was chased down and stabbed by two strangers.

The 13-year-old said he had quarrel with schoolgirl Nguyen Ngoc Anh on Monday and the latter asked the strangers to exact the revenge.

The school principle said the boy is a good student.

Vietnamese delegates to join world youth festival 

Vietnam will send 135 youth delegates to the 17th World Festival of Youths and Students in South Africa, according to the country’s youth union.

The festival will take place from December 13-21 in Johannesburg.

The world youth’s most significant forum this year will host daily conference sessions on social, political and economic issues facing today’s youth.

It will also feature a cultural program that includes a poetry and song contest, and young filmmakers’ meeting.

About 30,000 delegates from all over the world are expected to attend the event, which is held every four years by the World Federation of Democratic Youth with 153 member countries.

Stolen motorbike traders get 112 years in jail 

Members of a gang sentenced to varying prison terms in Dong Nai on Friday for stealing and selling motorbikes, and forging registration documents.

Twenty-six people in the southern province of Dong Nai were sentenced on Friday to a total of 112 years in prison for stealing scooters and forging motorbike registration papers for sale.

Le Van Nam, 48, the ring leader, received the highest punishment. He will be put behind bars for 14 years and nine months, according to a decision made by the Nhon Trach District People’s Court.

His subordinate, Pham Tan Loi, will serve six years in prison.

Both are Ho Chi Minh City residents.

The other 24 defendants will serve terms of between five years and a year and four months.

According to the verdict, since 2005, Nam and Loi had bought stolen scooters and made 657 counterfeit motorbike registration papers and identification cards, along with 500 fake number plates before selling the vehicles in Vietnam and Cambodia or pawning them.

In related news, Ho Chi Minh City police on Friday busted a major stolen motorbike-trading ring including 28 people.

Initial investigations show that the gang had been stealing costly scooters including the SH, Dylan, and Air Blade brands from many southern provinces and cities like Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Long An, and Can Tho for a long time.

The police said the ring had sold more than 1,000 stolen motorbikes, adding that they had confiscated 120 scooters from the gang.

PV