UNDP to assist with social, legal reforms

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will support Viet Nam in creating development policies, focusing on social security, law reform and the capacity to cope with climate change.

The assistance will come in the form of policy consultancy and technical assistance.

The move is part of the first co-operation programme between Viet Nam, UNDP and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) during the 2012-16 period.

It was approved in principle by the Executive Council of UNDP and UNFPA at its four-day regular session ending yesterday in New York.

The Viet Nam-UNDP co-operation programme, worth more than US$173 million, will prioritise the construction of policies and improving the health care system, including reproductive health and gender equality.

The programme acknowledges that Viet Nam has fulfilled the majority of its eight millennium development goals, recorded high economic growth and strongly reduced the number of poor households over the past two decades.

Leaders of UNDP, UNFPA and many member countries of the executive council spoke highly of the Vietnamese Government's commitment to promoting the joint co-ordination between UN organisations via the One UN Initiative (an ongoing process to make improvements to the way the entire UN family works).

They also praised its efforts to use development resources effectively.

Addressing the session, Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, head of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the UN, said Viet Nam-UNDP was built on the basis of the Vietnamese socio-economic development plan during the 2011-15 period, making use of the strengths of UN organisations and achievements made by the nation itself.

Boss’ brother seized for assaulting protester

The police Friday detained five people in Da Nang City for assaulting a local man who protested against pollution caused by the company’s Golden Hills residential construction project.

Nguyen Tuan prevented dumper trucks from entering a construction site that had caused dust pollution to the areas from where local resident are to be displaced due to a construction project.

He was later stabbed, after which over 1,000 angry people stormed the project’s office and demanded justice.

Now, police have arrested Nguyen Tam Loc, 31, the brother of Nguyen Tam Tien, director of Trung Nam Machinery Assembly and Construction Joint Stock Company – the investor of the project of the Quan Nam – Thuy Tu Urban Area (Golden Hills) in the city.

Loc is deputy manager of the Trung Nam’s sales and supplies department.

The four others include Vo Phi Hai, 26, an employee of Trung Nam, Huynh Van Bong, 22; Nguyen Giac, 19; and Le Thanh Tuan, 31.

All of the five are charged with intentional assault, said the police of Hoa Vang District.

On August 29, these men beat and stabbed Nguyen Tuan, a district resident, at his home.

The victim had to be hospitalized with many wounds, including one on the head and another on the back.

After the attack, more than 1,000 angry residents stormed the local office of the project to protest for several days and destroyed assets of the company.

They thought Tuan was attacked out of revenge by Trung Nam for his participation in blocking the company’s dumper trucks. However, the Trung Nam director denied the allegation that his company hired people to stab Tuan.

The police came to the scene, calmed down the angry crowd, and tracked down the attackers on Tuan.

On September 6, the Da Nang City government opened an urgent meeting with local people to be relocated and the investor to identify problems arising from the project implementation.

Local residents voiced their concerns about a series of problems related to environmental pollution, site clearance, compensation rates, relocation and job support schemes for the local people.

They also said they could no longer stand the clouds of dust choking the life out of their living areas, a result of endless lines of trucks transporting construction materials for the project.

“We also live with constant worries about potential accidents and possible diseases caused by the dust pollution,” a local said.

Uncomfortable with their resettlement prospect, Dang Tan Do, another local, voiced his frustration, “We are ready to move if we get reasonable compensation. But the land for our relocation is not even available, so where do they expect us to move to?”

Gold worth $95,000 stolen from jewelry shop

Bich Ngoc jewelry shop in the Binh Tien Market, in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Friday reported the loss of about 50 taels of gold worth nearly US$95,000.

Tran Thi Manh, 47, owner of Bich Ngoc jewelry shop, told the police when she came to the shop at 6:30 am, she found the door of the shop had been forced open.

All the gold in the shop was missing, she reported.

On Thursday evening, she brought home a large quantity of gold from the shop and left about 50 taels there (1 tael is equivalent to 1.2 ounce).

The district police have examined the scene and are investigating the theft, with the assistance of the HCMC police.

A week ago, another theft occured in Liem Minh jewelry shop in Binh My Commune, Cu Chi District, HCMC, with about 200 taels of gold worth US$384,000 and around VND400-500 million (US$19,200-24,000) in cash stolen.

Huynh Tan Trung, the shop’s owner, told the district police that when he returned hom at 8 pm on September 3, he found the iron bars of the back door of the shop had been cut off.

The police are investigating the case.

Truck overturned, road closed

A truck was overturned at the Hang Xanh crossroads in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District early Thursday morning forcing a closedown that lasted several hours.

The accident occurred at 2:30 am when Nguyen Cong Tien lost control of his truck on his way to the Saigon Bridge.

According to the police, Tien might have been over speeding when the accident occurred.

Dozens tons of rubber sap were also thrown off the truck, causing a mess on the road.

No one was hurt in the accident, the police said.

Man arrested for beating, robbing foreigner

After a month of investigation, the Nha Trang City Police Department yesterday, Sep 10, arrested Dang Van Phuoc, 28, who assaulted and robbed a 27-year-old Irishwoman last month.

Phuoc, from Dong Nai Province, is charged with intentional assault and robbery, said Senior Lieutenant Tran Manh Chien, head of the Nha Trang City’s Anti-Crime Investigation Police Team.

According to the file case, at 5 pm on August 11, Maeve O’ Conor, with the help of a local woman as an interpreter, reported to the Nha Trang police that a man had beaten and robbed her of a handbag that had some valuables worth US$1,060.

Earlier at 3 am on the same day, the Irishwoman and two friends, both of whom are foreigners, were on their way back to Tay Balo Hotel on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street when a group of young men on motorbikes approached and invited them to an eatery for breakfast.

O’ Conor agreed to go with a guy while her two friends were taken by two other men. When all of them reached Hong Bang Street, the guy who drove O’ Conor suddenly turned to a different street and upon reaching Doc Mit Bridge, he stopped the motorbike and used a hard object to strike her head.

The guy then took O’ Conor’s handbag that had an iPod Touch, a Casio camera and VND4 million in cash.

Some locals later took the victim to the house of Nguyen Thi Lac An, 56, who can speak English. An then took O’ Conor to the hospital and the police office.

The Nha Trang police launched an investigation and identified Phuoc and finally caught him in Xuan Tan Commune in Dong Nai.

Phuoc has been convicted 5 times for robbery and theft and was released from prison last year, the Nha Trang police said.

Hired gangster gets death penalty for murder, businessman gets life

The HCM City People's Court Friday handed the death sentence to a gangster for killing a company executive for money on the orders of the latter's superior.

Vu Van Luan, 46, of Hai Phong, was found guilty of ordering the death of Dang Xuan Sy, then deputy director of the city-based Hoang Hai Co, in 2009.

Ngo Quang Chuong, alias Truong, 50, former director of Hoang Hai, was sentenced to life for setting Luan on the victim.

Luan's henchmen Tran Van Khoa, 34, and Ngo Chi Huan, 25, each got 20 years for the same crime.

Another accomplice, 26-year-old Bui Quoc Huy, got 14 years.

While working under Chuong, Sy began to accuse his boss of fraud, and in 2005 complained to relevant authorities.

Unhappy at this, Chuong hired Luan to threaten Sy and gifted him a plot of land.

In August 2009, Nguyen The Viet, who is still at large, and three other henchmen met Sy and threatened to kill him if he did not stop accusing Chuong.

But Sy ignored the threats and continued to complain to the Department of Planning and Investment.

Chuong then decided to up the threat and ordered Luan to beat up Sy.

Luan sent Viet, Khoa, Huan, Huy, and another gangster named Tuan (still at large) on October 15, 2009, to assault Sy.

However, in the process, one of them stabbed Sy to death.

The court also ordered Chuong to pay a compensation of VND700 million to Sy's family.

In one other case against Luan and his gang that the court tried simultaneously, he got five years for extortion and two years for illegally confining a person.

The gang had abducted a man called Vu Xuan Vinh in May 2009 and forced him to sign an IOU for VND260 million following a gambling dispute with him.

Do Hong Son, 29; Leu Ngọc Ha, 42; and Nguyen The Manh, got 42 months each, while Do Quang Loi, 28, got two years.

Luan is already serving five years for illegally possessing weapons and two and a half years for organising gambling.

Traffic officers suspended in Da Nang, Quang Binh

Following Tuoi Tre’s articles about extortion cases among traffic policemen in central provinces, the police departments of Da Nang City and Quang Binh Province have suspended 15 officers for the offense.

These policemen were found demanding and receiving fees from truck drivers who violated traffic rules such as overloading, speeding, and driving on the wrong lanes.

In Da Nang, 5 policemen of the Hoa Phuoc traffic police station, including the head and deputy head of the station, were suspended yesterday for their extortion acts on July 31, said the Da Nang Traffic Police Division.

These officers have been requested to submit reports about their offenses and would be disciplined by the city’s Police Department.

In Quang Binh, 10 traffic officers of two patrol teams have also been suspended after Tuoi Tre exposed the widespread acts, said Colonel Nguyen Quoc Tuong, head of the Traffic Police Division of the provincial Police Department.

In its articles, Tuoi Tre reported that a number of traffic police officers in several central provinces and cities, including Da Nang and Quang Binh, had demanded fees ranging from hundreds of thousands of dongs to VND12 million (US$576) from truck drivers who violated traffic rules.

On September 6, the Ministry of Public Security ordered the police departments of Thanh Hoa, Ha Nam, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Hanoi, Thua Thien-Hue and Da Nang to investigate these extortion cases and report to the ministry before September 12.

Two more policemen suspended for extortion

Two traffic police officers in Thua Thien-Hue Province have been suspended for extorting fees from truck drivers after three others were similarly disciplined in Thanh Hoa.

The suspension was announced yesterday, Sep 10, Lieutenant Colonel Ho Xuan Phuong, head of the Traffic Police Division of the Thua Thien-Hue Province Police Department, told Tuoi Tre.

Phuong said the two officers had admitted their acts and requested their names not to be published for the time being.

Phuong said he had ordered all traffic police officers to review their conducts while on duty.

The suspensions were made after Tuoi Tre published two articles this week, exposing extortion acts of the traffic police in several central provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Thua-Thien Hue, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Da Nang.

Tuoi Tre found that some traffic policemen demanded fees ranging from hundreds of thousands of dong to VND12 million (US$576) from truck drivers who violated traffic rules such as overloading, speeding, and driving in wrong lanes.

Major General Nguyen Thanh Toan, director of the Thua Thien-Hue Province Police Department, had set up a special force to further investigation the corruption.

He also asked his subordinates to submit reports about the operation of the policemen assigned to work on the streets.

Hanoians join hands to build new rural areas

A ceremony to launch the building of new rural areas was held jointly by the Hanoi Municipal Party Committee, the People’s Council, the People’s Committee and the Fatherland Front on September 9.

Agriculture, farmers and rural areas play a strategic role in national construction and defense, and they have been the fundamental factors for sustainable socioeconomic development in recent years.

The programme for building new rural areas in the capital city has obtained remarkable achievements, including improving people’s living standards and ensuring social security, and many localities in the city have followed the new national criteria for their new rural areas.

Speaking at the ceremony, Nguyen Cong Soai, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, said Hanoi is the first city in the country to support the programme. The ceremony concretizes the 7th National Party Congress Resolution No.26 on agriculture, farmers and rural areas and the targets for building new rural areas up to 2020.

HIV test compulsory for specific patients

The Ministry of Health has announced five groups of patients for whom HIV testing is compulsory.
They are organ and tissue donors and recipients; sperm, ovule and embryos donors and recipients; patients who were clinically diagnosed though the cause of disease remains unclear, and those who show suspected symptoms of HIV infection.
The testing expenses will be paid by the receiving health institution and later will be listed as the one of the medical fees for the recipients.
The remaining cases will be covered by Health Insurance Fund as long as the patients own health insurance cards.
As of the first quarter this year, there are 235,535 reported cases infected with HIV, including over 94,600 patients in the period of AIDS and nearly 50,000 other died from AIDS.

Man drives motorbike with buttocks

A 5-minute video clip posted on some websites showing a man riding a motorcycle at high speed has caused heated debates during the past few days.

In the clip, he was seen lying on the saddle, with his arms stretching out and his legs keeping up high in the air, controlling his bike only with his backsides.

Nguyen Van Duc, Deputy Head of Dak Lak traffic police bureau, told Tuoi Tre the bike number 47F6 – 8957 was registered in Dak Lak central highlands province.

Initial investigations suggested the incident happened on National Highway 27 that connects Dak Lak and Lam Dong province, he said.

“From the clip, he has clearly violated some traffic rules, such as lying down on the saddle to control the motorcycle and driving without a helmet. The punishments for these violations are very severe,” said Duc. 

Hanoians in Germany help disabled children

The Hanoians Association in Germany has donated 5,555 EUR to help Vietnamese disabled children, including those suffering from Agent Orange.

The donation was made during the visit to Germany by Chairwoman of the Hanoi Municipal People’s Council Ngo Thi Doan Thanh.

At a meeting with the association in Berlin on September 10, Thanh highlighted its practical activities since it was established one year ago.

She urged its members to extend more help to disadvantaged people in their homeland.
During her visit to Germany, she is scheduled to attend a debut of chapters of the Hanoians Association in Munich and surrounding areas and a fund raising to help disabled kids in Hanoi.

Cool weather, storms this weekend in north

Northern provinces will enjoy cool weather this weekend and there will be rain, storms and even whirlwinds in some places, according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Southern provinces are expected to be sunny during the day and showery at night.

$135,000 project to provide cows, grain

Ten thousand poor rural people will benefit from a US$135,000 project funded by the-US based Monsanto Fund through the Viet Nam Red Cross.

The two-year project will start this month in the districts of Minh Hoa in Quang Binh Province, Eakar in Dak Lak Province, Bat Xat in Lao Cai Province and Moc Chau in Son La Province.

The project will provide a total of 75 cows, 16,000kg of corn seeds, 21,000kg of fertiliser and 200 water tanks.

Fire at hairdresser salon in Hanoi

A fire broke out at the New & Nice hairdresser salon in Hanoi at 5 pm Friday, and no casualty was reported.

All the staff of the shop and its guests got out safely after the fire burst out on the fourth floor of the shop, situated on Kham Thien Street, Dong Da District, local authorities said.

The capital’s firefighters with three fire engines rushed to the scene at 5:15 pm and put out the fire about 45 minutes later.

The fire has caused heavy traffic congestion in the area, as it occurred in the rush hour.

The local police are investigating the cause of the fire, which could be due to a short circuit.

The fire has caused a big loss to the salon.

Samsung Vina looks to promote reading

Samsung Vina Electronics Co. launched phase one of a community project Thu vien thong minh-tri tue ngay mai (Smart Library- Knowledge for Tomorrow) in an effort to promote a reading culture among students, especially in rural areas.

Phase 1 costs about VND10 billion (US$481,000). The project is a part of the Samsung—Hope for Children Programme.

From September to December, the company will set up smart library models at 15 junior schools in Bac Ninh, Quang Nam, Tra Vinh province and HCM City. The company plans to expand to 60 schools in 2012 and 100 in 2013.

Gale blows 58 houses in Mekong Delta, no casualty

As many as 58 houses in Hau Giang Province in the Mekong Delta were swept away by strong gales that happened at midnight on early Friday. Luckily, no one was hurt during the disaster.

11 houses were totally collapsed and 47 others became unroofed. Total damages are initially estimated to reach VND420 million (US$20,500).

Several ancient trees got uprooted by the gales that swept through four districts Vi Thanh, Phung Hiep, Long My, and Vi Thuy.

During teh annual raining season, water-bound provinces in the Mekong Delta as Dong Thap, Ben Tre, Kien Giang, An Giang and Ca Mau become vulnerable to floods and erosion as a result of heavy rains.

Early this week, the northern province Lao Cai had sustained heavy rains, land erosion, and strong gales ravaging tourist hotspot Sapa and other districts as Bat Xat, Bao Thang and Van Ban.

Around 50 houses were unroofed or flooded.

Hundred poor patients receive free surgery

More than 100 poor patients have been given free surgery to help them walk under a humanitarian programme offered by US Operation Walk and Army Central Hospital 108.

The cost of the treatment was about VND80 million (US$3,800) per patient.

The patients, who mostly had knee and groin arthritis, were chosen nationwide after clinical examinations conducted by the hospital.

Another Vinashin official seized for wrongdoings

Police Thursday detained the director of Vinashin Finance Leasing Company (VFL), for wrongdoings including the buying of a used boat in 2007 that led to the loss of hundreds of billions of dongs (VND100 billion = US$4.8 million).

The Ministry of Public Security police also searched the office and the house of Hoang Gia Hiep, 39. Hiep is facing charges of “deliberately acting against the state’s economic management regulations and causing serious consequences.”

Hiep is also former vice general director of the Shipbuilding Industry Financial Company (VFC), an affiliate with the Vinashin Group.

He is suspected of being directly involved in purchasing the used Cartour ship from Italy at the price of 60 million euros (US$83.4 million) in May 2007.

The ship was later used as a passenger boat named Hoa Sen (Lotus), which needed to be repaired a short time after the purchase, causing a great loss.

The purchase of the used boat was against the direction of the Prime Minister, the police said.

Hiep has also been held accountable for the illegal use of VND1,000 billion from the international bond capital to redeem the debts of companies within the Vinashin group. Of the debts, many were bad ones at the Bank for Investment Development of Vietnam (BIDV).

In addition, he was found to have illegally spent VND1 billion on consultancy fees regarding the purchasing of the Energy ship from Bien Dong Shipping Company.

Before Hiep’s arrest, the Ministry of Public Security’s investigation agency had detained 8 officials at Vinashin, including Phan Thanh Binh, former group chairman, for committing corrupt acts causing great losses to the group, which suffered a total debt of over VND50,000 billion ($2.4 billion) and are being re-structured.

Two other officials of the group, Ho Ngoc Tung, former Vinashin chief financial officer, and Giang Kim Dat, former business manager of a Vinashin subsidiary, Vinashin Ocean Shipping Company, are on the run and on the international wanted list.

Vietnam should better employ talents: official

The country should develop programs to discover, train and employ talented people, a seminar has heard.

Ho Duc Viet, former head of the Party Central Committee, told the seminar held in Hanoi on September 6 that Vietnam still doesn’t have specific goals, programs and strategies when it comes to finding out, training and employing talented people.

The government should pay more attention to talented students in high schools and universities, he said, adding that many talented people haven’t been offered important positions.

Vu Ngoc Hoang, Deputy Permanent Head of the Party Central Committee, agreed.

He said that the government should develop policies to make use of talents.

White-leg shrimp ‘not harming environment'

White-leg shrimp and Pacific oysters will be removed from a list of species harmful to the environment, said Pham Anh Tuan, deputy head of the agricultural ministry's directorate of fisheries.

According to the ministry, the inclusion of the species recently would negatively affect the country's exports.

The two aquaproducts were added to the list of harmful foreign species by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment three weeks ago.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre