Heat wave to continue for few more days 

 

The National Hydro Meteorological Center has forecast that the current heat wave will continue for the next two to three days.

 

Yesterday was the second day that the severe hot weather conditions prevailed in the country.

 

The northern provinces of Dien Bien, Son La and Lai Chau and the central provinces of Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri are facing the highest temperatures from 37-38 degrees Celsius on wide area.

 

The hot westward low-pressure zones, which are causing the present scorching conditions, will further create hot and dry southwesterly winds in the northwest, central and southeast areas of the country within the next couple of days.

 

In related news, typhoon ‘Aere’ is forming along the southeast of Luzon Island off the Philippine coast near the East Sea, according to the national weather bureau.

 

As of 7am this morning, the typhoon was centered at 13.6 degrees on the northern latitude and 122.5 degrees on the eastern longitude.

 

Strong winds moving at 75-88 kilometers per hour and gusts at 89-117 kilometers per hour were reported near the storm epicenter.

 

Within the next 24 hours, the storm will move northwards at 20 kilometers an hour.

 

By 7am tomorrow, its position will be 180 kilometers south of Taiwan (China). It is expected to create strong winds in the northeastern part of the East Sea, which has been very rough of late.

 

Passengers lose out over hydrofoil operator disputes

 

Hydrofoil passengers of Greenlines Express were stranded at Bach Dang Wharf in downtown HCMC last Friday morning due to disputes concerning the departure times of two service providers.

 

The passengers were scheduled to leave for Vung Tau at 9.30 a.m and Greenlines Express and another hydrofoil service operator both posted up the same departure time.

 

However, the HCMC Inland Waterway Port Authority refused to permit Greenlines hydrofoil to depart, leading to an argument between Greenlines B5 captain Nguyen Van Duyen and staff of the authority. Some passengers asked the captain to compensate them.

 

Greenlines general director Le Huy Thao said the enterprise had registered departure times of 9.30 a.m. and 3.30 p.m. daily from Monday to Friday since last November. However, the city’s Department of Transport last Thursday arranged that departure time for Vina Express.

 

“This seriously infringed Greenlines rights and affected our staff’s income,” Thao was quoted by Phap Luat newspaper as saying.

 

Greenlines in the afternoon also sent a petition to the Ministry of Transport to sue for costs.

 

Tran The Ky, deputy director of the city’s Transport Department, said the departure schedule was based on negotiations by Vina Express and Petro Express. Greenlines declined to join the negotiations.

 

“The transport department has yet to give an official announcement to arrange the departure time of 9.30 a.m. for Greenlines,” Ky said.

 

Jetstar to re-open Hanoi-Nha Trang air route

 

Jetstar Pacific will re-open its Hanoi-Nha Trang air route with one flight per day from May 24-31.

 

Flight BL501 will depart from Hanoi at 7:45am while flight BL502 will leave Cam Ranh airport at 10:15 am.

 

From June 1 to October 19, the airline will increase to two flights per day, departing from Hanoi at 9:25 am and 14:15 pm and from Cam Ranh at 11:45am and 16:40pm

 

A one-way ticket will cost VND1,025,000. The route is being reopened to provide passengers with more options and meet the summer demand travel.

 

Workers return from Russia with sorry tales

 

Many people in Ho Chi Minh City, Long An, and central provinces find their dreams of a better life in Russia shattered after working for a while, usually long hours in terrible conditions.

 

One of the victims is Nguyen Thi Bich Thi of Cu Chi District, HCMC, who returned to Vietnam April 14 after a terrible experience.

 

She and many others were sent to Russia by Huy Vu Employment Service Company based in Hau Nghia town in Long An.

 

She worked for four months in a Vietnamese-owned garment factory on the outskirts of Moscow after.

 

She and the others were forced to work for 15 hours a day and given poor food. As a result, Thi often fell ill and so asked to return to Vietnam.

 

She was told she could leave by paying US$2,400 as compensation for terminating her contract prematurely and $300 for half the plane fare.

 

Thi’s family sent her $2,700 so she could return.

 

Huy Vu had lured workers by saying they would be paid $500 for eight hours a day.

But to get $500, workers actually had to work 15 hours, Thi said, before going on to list all the horrors.

 

The Vietnamese workers were not allowed to get out of the factory.

 

After four months of work, Thi did not get paid a penny, with her salary being deducted for her “expenses” during her stay there.

 

Thi said she owes a debt of VND50 million ($2,430) because of her Russian trip.

 

Recently Duong Thanh Sang and Lai Thi Thu Huong, Thi’s colleagues in Russia, called her to say they have not received any money since starting to work at the factory.

 

They wanted to return to Vietnam but had no money to buy off their contract.

 

Huy Vu collected VND8 million ($390) from each person it sent to Russia. It also took VND1 million for medical examination, visa fee and other expenses.

 

Before departure, each worker also had to sign a contract to pay a fee of $2,200 that would be deducted from their salary.

 

Speaking to Tuoi Tre last week, Hoang Phan Huy Vu, director of the company, said: “The VND8 million we collected from workers was for service charge. It covered expenses related to the recruitment and procedures to send them to Russia.”

 

Huy Vu claimed to have been authorized by the Vina Handcoop Labor Export Center, under the Vietnam Cooperative Union, to recruit workers for Russia.

 

However, Tran Thanh Minh, director of Vina Handcoop, said Huy Vu’s exporting labor export to Russia had nothing to do with his company.

 

Huy Vu found foreign partners and recruited on its own, he said.

 

“We only had Huy Vu find us workers for our own companies in Russia. We did not authorize Huy Vu to send [any other] workers to Russia.”

 

5 nabbed in Can Tho for forging driver’s licenses

 

Following months of investigation, the Can Tho police have arrested five men belonging to a gang that allegedly supplied forged driver’s licenses in Mekong Delta provinces.

 

They are Ngo Van Ho of Vinh Long Province, Duong Van Kim of Hau Giang, and Nguyen Dinh Sau, Nguyen Dinh Manh, and Tran Van Bay of Binh Duong.

 

Ho was the alleged supplier of the licenses while the others were his distributors, Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Tran Quang Thang, deputy head of the police’s security investigation division, said.

 

The gang had been operating since the middle of last year, he said.

 

On April 22 the police had caught Ho with 18 fake licenses and a fake high-school graduation certificate on National Highway 1A in Vinh Long.

 

At the same time other officers stopped a bus near the Can Tho Bridge to arrest Kim who was on it.

 

Kim has confessed to being one of the distributors of fake licenses for the gang.

 

The two men also gave the police information that enabled them to track down and arrest Manh, Sau, and Bay.

 

The gang told the police about how they forged the licenses. They would color scan a genuine license, erase the name, and replace it with a new one. They would then paste the fake photo and affix a fake seal on it.

 

All the licenses bear the forged signature of the deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Transport Department, Duong Hong Thanh, the police said.

 

Other documents related to a driver’s license were also forged by the ring in every detail, including signatures and seals.

 

After getting a copy of the customer’s ID card and photos, they would deliver a fake license in just a couple of days, charging different rates depending on the nature of the license.

 

Some of the gang’s customers told the police they paid VND11.5 million (US$558) for a Grade E license for driving passenger vans with more than 30 seats.

 

For smaller vehicles, the licenses were cheaper, they said.

 

Ho admitted he had a network in all delta provinces and sold forged licenses to hundreds of people.

 

Manh said he had delivered eight to 10 since the middle of last year. He worked not only for Ho but also other forgery gangs outside the Mekong Delta.

 

The police are expanding their investigation to find other members of the gang.

 

Broken eggs make a mess of Hanoi Highway

 

A truck overturned on the Hanoi Highway in the southern Binh Duong Province Tuesday morning, scattering its cargo of thousands of eggs on the road and blocking traffic for 20 minutes.

 

Nguyen Van Hung, 28, was driving the vehicle to Ho Chi Minh City from Lam Dong in the Central Highlands when the mishap occurred at the Tan Van T-junction in Di An town.

 

At around 6:30 am, Hung said, a container truck overtook him and swerved sharply in front of him. He had to hastily swerve left to avoid a possible collision, and overturned, he added.

 

After the eggs broke on the street, making it slippery, some motorists reportedly took a tumble.

 

Soon after the incident, local traffic police arrived on the scene to control the traffic.

 

Traffic on Hanoi Highway was blocked for 20 minutes until a salvage team retrieved the truck.

 

But by then, thousands of vehicles had lined up for more than 2 km from the Tan Van junction to the Vung Tau roundabout.

 

It was almost 8:00 am when the truck was moved. The police scattered rice husk to make the road less slippery.

 

Death rumor hits watermelon sales in Quang Binh

 

Watermelon farmers and sellers in the northern Quang Binh Province have been forced to fend for themselves following rumors that the fruit causes death, and many have come up with novel solutions.

 

Some fruit sellers in markets carry photocopies of newspaper articles refuting the rumor and show them to hesitant customers.

 

“A young man gave me this article and asked me to show it to customers as proof that watermelons do not cause death,” Nguyen Thi Ly, a shopkeeper at Dong Hoi market, said.

 

It is not known who the Samaritan is, but whoever it was, his plan is working. Tran Lai, another shopkeeper, said as soon as she shows the newspaper clipping to customers who hesitate, they buy.

 

“My sales have increased a little today,” she said happily.

 

Other sellers in markets in Ly Trach Commune eat watermelons in front of customers to show the fruits are not deadly.

 

While sellers and farmers are struggling to rid the fruit of its stigma, the provincial Farmers Union has not done anything to help them.

 

One loses hand in gang fight

 

One man lost his hand in a bloody clash between two gangs from Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring Binh Duong Province last night.

 

Witnesses said the fight began around 8:30 pm, at a café on Nguyen Tri Phuong Street in Binh Duong’s Thu Dau Mot Town.

 

A car with a HCMC license plate stopped in front of the café, and a group of gangsters got out of the car and rushed into the café and attacked another gang with scimitars and knives.

 

One member of the Binh Duong gang lost his hand.

 

After the clash, the Ho Chi Minh City gang got back to their car and drove away.

 

The Binh Duong police chased after them and eventually captured all of the 14-member gang with their weapons.

 

The police said there was some conflict between the two gangs.

 

Orphan girls forced to kneel on jackfruit

 

Two 4-year-old girls in an unlicensed orphanage in the southern province of Binh Thuan were forced to kneel on jackfruit peels as a punishment for disobedience.

 

The two girls, Dang Ngoc Chau and Dang Ngoc Hoang, confessed to their kindergarten teachers after the teachers asked them why their knees were injured.

 

The kids said Dang Van Kham, the manager of the orphanage, had forced them to kneel on jackfruit peels after they disregarded his words.

 

To Xuan Thuy, head of Ham Thuan Nam District’s Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Office said the orphanage, owned by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Huong, is being run without a license.

 

She has requested further investigation from the police.

 

Girl cruelly beaten by teens for “hateable looks”

 

A 19-year-old girl who was beaten into unconsciousness on May 1 for her “hatable” looks told Tuoi Tre that she absolutely did not do or say anything to two rural teen girls who attacked her.

 

Nguyen Thi Tuyet, of Dong Phuoc commune, who twice fainted while being cruelly beaten in the southern province of Hau Giang and who had to undergo two brain surgeries said she did not know why they beat her.

 

Tuyet said after she recovered from consciousness the first time, the two beat her again, sending her into a second unconsciousness.

 

Tuyet’s boyfriend told Tuoi Tre Sunday that around 8pm on May 1 when Tuyet was drinking coffee, two women called her outside because they said “she glanced and pointed at them”.

 

The boyfriend said that they used glass bottles and a crash helmet to hit on Tuyet and humiliated her.

 

When he intervened, he was thrust aide.

 

Only when the coffee house owner intervened did they leave.

 

Tuyet had to undergo two brain surgeries at the central hospital in Can Tho City.

 

Tuyet’s mother Le Thi Loi said she had to borrow VND17 million (US$850) to pay for surgery fees.

 

Nguyen Van Minh, deputy police chief of Nga Sau Town in Hau Giang said that the two girl assaulters have been arrested.

 

They are Do Thi Thuy and Ha Kim Yen, both in their mid and late teens.

 

Yen confessed that she did not have any big conflict with Tuyet but she beat her just because she “looks hateable”.

 

Both have been released because Yen is just short of 16 years old and by law, is not criminally liable for minor offences while Thuy, though over 19 years old, has a young child.

 

Tuyet is now very weak, doctors said.

 

Mastermind behind businessman murder arrested

 

The mastermind behind the murder of a businessman in Binh Duong Province over a debt handed himself in to police Monday afternoon.

 

Pham Tuan Thanh, 32 of Hai Phong City, director of Hai Nam Phat Ltd Company handed himself to Ho Chi Minh City police.

 

He had confessed to the killing of his debtor Phan Van Lan, 40, owner of Lan Thao Enterprise in front of the latter’s house in Thu Dau Mot Town, Binh Duong province on the night of June 5.

 

Thanh has been transferred to Binh Duong police for questioning and detention.

 

Thanh told police he intended to flee to Cambodia but later changed his mind.

 

It was found that Lan sold 3,000 square meters of land in Thu Dau Mot town to Thanh, a close acquaintance, for VND3 billion (US$145,600) in September 2009 and received VND2 billion as a deposit.

 

But later Thanh told Lan he no longer wanted to buy the land and asked for the money back. Lan returned VND1.5 billion.

 

In recent times Thanh had been frequently contacting Lan to ask about the remaining VND500 million ($24,300) but Lan could not pay because of some financial difficulties, according to the police.

 

On Friday Thanh took an armed group of 15 people to Lan’s company in two cars. Not finding him there, they went on a rampage, destroying company property.

 

When neighbors informed Lan, he rushed to his office and was allegedly shot in the chest by one of the attackers.

 

Lan died on the way to the hospital.

 

Police had called in Hoang Xuan Hieu, Thanh’s father-in-law, who had been present at the scene, for questioning.

 

Hieu, director of Hai Long Co Ltd, said he went to Thao Lan to stop Thanh but failed. On his way there in a car, he had called the local police for help but the killing occurred before officers arrived.

 

Earlier, Binh Duong police had arrested six suspects in the murder.

 

Specifically, they arrested Pham Van Dung, 38, last Friday when he was trying to flee the scene of crime.

 

They had found a handcuff and a switch blade on him.

 

Customs officials seized for helping smuggler

 

The Ministry of Public Security police have arrested two customs inspectors of the Saigon Port in Ho Chi Minh City who abetted a smuggling company last year.

 

The arrested are Nguyen Van Hanh and Tran Thanh Lam, who have been indicted for helping Cat Tuong Trading and Service Co., Ltd in a smuggling case worth nearly 1.4 billion (US$68,000).

 

Earlier on April 8, the General Department of Customs’ Anti-smuggling Investigation Department transferred the case to the Ministry of Public Security for prosecution against the two officers.

 

The General Department of Customs has also set up a team to investigate alleged bribery by the two men to avoid prosecution.

 

According to investigation’s results, on December 30, 2010, Cat Tuong Trading and Service Co., Ltd, declared to the Saigon Port Customs that it would import four containers of baby napkins, flints, and pen ink, as shown in the customs declaration form.

 

Although the shipment had yet to arrive at the Saigon Port, Hanh and Lam confirmed that they had inspected 10 percent of the total shipment volume and that the goods were identical to the contents as indicated in the declaration form.

 

However, Cat Tuong mostly imported milk, cosmetics and juice products, not baby napkins, flints, and pen ink as declared.

 

The containers later arrived at the port and on January 1, 2011, when they was transported out, local anti-smuggling force inspected and found they actually contained thousands of cartons of Ensure-branded powder milk and a large quantity of cosmetics and fruit juice products.

 

The total value of the smuggled goods is estimated at nearly $68,000.

 

Minor earthquake rattles north Vietnam

 

An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.2 struck off Song Ma River in Son La northern mountainous province bordering Laos at 8:02 pm May 7. There were no reports of human casualties.

 

The Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) reported the quake occurred off the province at the depth of 12 meters. Its epicenter was in Song Ma district.

 

A VAST representative said the quake was minor and therefore was not able to cause any material damage.

 

With five earthquakes in succession measuring over 3.5 magnitude reported to hit Son La and other northern mountainous provinces since this April, experts have said fault lines in this area are strongly developing and they have warned local people to be on alert against possible quakes and damage.

 

Son La was reported to experience a magnitude-5.5 quake in December, 2010, and another measuring 3.5 in November, 2011.

 

Newborn found dead at cemetery dustbin

 

A woman found a dead female newborn wrapped in a bag put on top of a dustbin at a cemetery in An Phu ward, Thuan An district, Binh Duong province yesterday.

 

She found the baby, weighing about 3.5 kg, while she was looking in the rubbish heap there for something salable.

 

She immediately reported the case to the ward police, which sent staffs to the scene.

 

After an autopsy was performed on the corpse, local authorities buried the baby on the same day.

 

Police are investigating the case, with their initial attention being focused on boarding houses nearby that are leased to workers.

 

In 2009, it was the very ward where a woman discovered the dead body of a male newborn in a dustbin. Many fresh blood spots were found at his umbilical cord.

 

In March 2011, two similar cases happened in Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Yen Bai.

 

In the case in HCM City, a dead female newborn was found in a bag at a garbage dump in Hiep Binh Chanh Ward, Thu Duc District.

 

In the other case, a dead body of a newborn baby was wrapped in a bag that was left in front of a house in Nguyen Hong Ha ward of Yen Bai.

 

One dead, four injured in oil tanker explosion

 

An oil tanker exploded Sunday at Ky Ha port in central Quang Nam Province, injuring four and killing one, reported Nguoi Lao Dong.

 

On Sunday morning, crew member Tran Quang Hai was boiling water in the cabin when the ship, owned by Nguyen Thanh Minh, suddenly burst into flames and began to quickly sink.

 

The blast blew Minh and three other crew members into the sea, witnesses said.

 

The three crew members were rescued and taken to Danang General Hospital, but Hai, and the wreckage, have yet to be found.

 

Source: Tuoi Tre/SGGP/SGT/VNA