Child injured in motorbike fire dies

Nguyen Khanh Van, 4, who was injured when a Honda Dream motorbike exploded on December 1 in northern Bac Ninh Province, died yesterday morning.

She suffered severe multi-organ and respiratory failure and bacterial contamination, said Doctor Nguyen Nhu Lam from the National Institute of Burns.

The explosion killed her pregnant mother, aged 29.

Many cases of Honda motorbikes catching fire have been reported recently.

Bus inspector suspended for assaulting passenger

Tran Minh Phung, the bus inspector on the Dong Nai bus with number plate 60V-9722, has been suspended for beating a passenger, 46 year-old Tran Thi Hanh, last week.

(From L) Phung, a witness, and Hanh at the meeting held by relevant agencies on Tuesday, Dec 13.  (Photo: Dan Tri)

Meanwhile, Phung said, “Hanh kept her ticket in her hand, she refused to show it to me, and I only pushed her into a seat. I did not beat her.”

A representative of Sonadezi said that Phung was wrong to treat a passenger that way, and that he should negotiate with Hanh to determine how much he has to reimburse her for the medical treatment she required.

For her part, Hanh should obtain a certificate documenting her injuries to form a basis for compensation, the representative said.

Phung later paid VND700,000 (US$33) in advance to Hanh.

Hanh had earlier told Tuoi Tre that doctors at the Dong Nai General Hospital confirmed that she had suffered multiple injuries.

Tong Minh Hoa, the company’s deputy general director, apologized to Hanh for his staff’s violent acts, and assured that the case would be resolved objectively and satisfactorily.

Man shoots both neighbor and police

Yesterday, Dec 13, Ho Chi Minh City police seized a man who had shot injured his neighbor, who the man suspected of having a suspicious relationship with his wife, and then opened fire on the police who came to the scene, injuring one officer.

The arrested is Ta Chi Hoang, who used a handgun to shoot 39-year-old Huynh Ngoc Hai on road 52, Ward 10, District 6, at about 12 pm Tuesday, and then rushed to a house to hide when local police were called to the scene.

From that house, Hoang opened fire on two police officers who were collecting information from witnesses. The shooting injured one officer, Le Hoang Viet.

The police then closed down the area and took Hai to hospital for emergency treatment.

They used a loudspeaker to persuade the shooter to surrender. “We have surrounded this area and you cannot escape. You should surrender at once.”

However Hoang, who had moved to the top floor of the house, fired five or six more times at the police force below.

The police continued trying to persuade the man to give up, and warned that if he kept resisting against the police, he would be killed.

Around 2 pm, the man finally surrendered to the police, who later escorted him to his home for a house search.

Hai had operated a business from a hired house for the past few years, while Hoang and his wife lived next door, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Nga, head of the Ward 10 police, told Tuoi Tre.

After his arrest, Hoang told the police that his wife and Hai had had a dubious relationship, and he once warned Hai to stop contacting his wife, but the man ignored his warning.

A few days ago, after discovering a text message sent by Hai to his wife, Hoang met the rival and warned him that if he kept associating with the woman, he would shoot him.

Hoang said that yesterday at noon he found his wife at Hai’s house, so he went to his house to get his gun, and then returned to Hai’s house to shoot him.

Agitators receive jail sentences

Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An were yesterday, Dec 13, sentenced to five and three years in jail, respectively, on charges of “abusing democratic freedom to infringe upon the interests of the State and legitimate rights and interests of organisations and citizens”.

The sentences were handed down at a trial run by the People’s Court of Cho Moi District in the southern province of An Giang.

According to the indictment, on April 24, Lia, 71, from Cho Moi District’s Kien Thanh Commune, was found in possession of 15 books, 64 CDs and DVDs and 36 documents slandering the State of violating human rights and religious freedom.

During the investigation, Lia confessed to composing the documents together with An, 60.

They also admitted to having discussed and agreed with others to call themselves as followers of “traditional Hoa Hao Buddhism bloc” in 2007.

The group members distributed the documents to a large number of people.

Between 2007 and 2010, Lia, An and others made trips to HCM City to meet with foreign religious delegations. They also held interviews with foreign radio stations in which they provided untruthful information and documents that slandered the State of Viet Nam of suppressing religions and claimed properties that did not belong to them.

They also wrote lots of documents and circulated them under the alias of Hoang Thuy Nhu Lien for Lia and Thuy An for An.

Lia was also found to have received money from individuals from other countries to fund their operation.

Both pled guilty in court, attributing their crimes to low intellectual levels and a lack of awareness of the law.

Other members in their group received administrative fines.

The inspection of pavement management in several districts of Ha Noi will be enhanced this month to help ease traffic congestion.

The municipal People’s Committee ordered the establishment of an interdisciplinary inspector team on Monday.

Reports must be submitted to the committee before January 15 on handling violations and measures to better manage the use of pavements in the city.

Another chief forester arrested for smuggling wood

Police Department of Criminal Investigation in Social Order (coded PC45) in Nghe An central province on Monday, Dec 12, signed a warrant for the arrest of Trinh Thanh Long, deputy director of the management board at the Pu Huong Natural Conservation Center and head of the Pu Huong Forest Management Center, for his involvement in a recent highly publicized smuggling operation.

Long was arrested this morning at Quy Hop Forest Management Center on charges of violating regulations of forest exploitation and protection, the police said.

On Monday, Dao Cong Thang, head of the Quy Hop Forest Management Center in Nghe An, was also arrested for his participation in smuggling wood on a truck that overturned last Wednesday, killing as many as 10 workers.

Thang confessed to the police that the truck was owned by Trinh Thanh Long, who ordered him to escort the truck carrying the smuggled wood products.

Nguyen Kim Hung, Thang’s subordinate, has also been held on the same charges.

Before his arrest, Long confirmed with VnExpress that he was completely guiltless.

“My subordinates lay the blame on me. And the poachers spread rumors aimed at “victimizing” me because I have directed concerned authorities to crack down on them during the past,” he told the newswire.

Early in the morning of December 7, a truck transporting a full load of valuable lumber overturned when it was halfway down Pu Uot Mountain in Binh Chuan Commune, Con Cuong District of Nghe An.

Unable to escape when the truck capsized, 14 workers in the back of the truck were crushed under the massive weight of the 12 cubic meters of wood that spilled out of it.

According to a source, the truck carried 12 columns of a house (each of which was 5m long) and six plank beds. All of the products were from the Tembusu (Fagraea fragrans) tree, which belongs to a group of valuable and rare woods and is banned from exploitation.

Farmer commended for donation

Trang Thi Lan’s family in Na Hoi Commune in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has been praised by the district’s government for her donation towards building new rural areas.

She donated VND10 million (US$480) in cash and 200sq m of land to build a road connecting two local villages.

Woman suffers domestic violence for 10 years

For more than ten years, a 37-year-old woman in Phu Yen Province has resigned herself to violence from her husband, but her mother, who could not see her daughter suffer any longer, has recently reported to the police the brutal actions of her son-in-law.

Tran Thi Ngat, of Hoa Thanh Commune, Dong Hoa District, told Tuoi Tre some of the brutality she has endured at the hands of her husband for a long time.

Most recently, November 22, after getting home drunk from a wedding party, her husband, Nguyen Ngoc Ken, destroyed all the rice paper she had spent the entire day making and then proceeded to beat her with a wooden stick.

In trying to get away from him, she tripped and fell, at which point the man continued his brutal attack on her until one of her legs broke.

The assault was only one among numerous cases of violence she had experienced at the hands of the husband whenever he got drunk, Ngat said.

It was the third most serious assault she has suffered so far this year, Nguyen Thi Triem, Ngat’s mother, said angrily.

The previous brutal beatings occurred on August 7 and May 27, during which Ngat was beaten black and blue, Triem said.

Tran Thi Thom, Ngat’s sister, said three years ago, Ken hurled a stone at Ngat’s head, causing her to be hospitalized and receive six stitches for the head wound.

Tuoi Tre asked Ngat why she had not taken any action against Ken’s abusive acts, Ngat replied in tears, “I have decided to leave him many times but always been held back from leaving at the last minute by my two children’s cries, pleading with me to stay with them.

“I love my children very much, so I have tried to live with him until now. But if the situation continues, perhaps I cannot put up with it any more.”

When Tuoi Tre asked why he assaulted her wife, Ken said matter-of-factly, “If I had wanted to beat her to death, I would have done it long ago.”

Ken also said he could not remember how many times he had assaulted his wife.

On November 28, Triem filed a petition to the local Women’s Union and the Hoa Thanh Commune authorities asking for assistance in protecting Ngat from Ken’s brutality.

Nguyen Van Truong, head of the commune police, told Tuoi Tre that he summoned Ken for questioning after receiving the petition.

The brutal man admitted he was wrong to beat his wife and promised he would not repeat his violent acts. However, on December 1, he again beat Ngat when she was on her sickbed, the official said.

“Ken’s acts were enough for him to be tried criminally, but the police’s policy is not to apply a criminal treatment to him for two reasons. First, Ngat asked us to educate him instead of prosecuting him. Second, he is illiterate and ignorant of the law,” Truong said.

“However, the police will give him a public warning before local residents sometime this December. After that, if he relapses to abusive behavior, we will send him to a penitentiary center.”

Thai Thi Thanh Thuy, chairwoman of the Dong Hoa District Women’s Union, said, “Ken has no job and indulges in drinking. He often picks a quarrel with Ngat and beats her. We have assigned the commune Women’s Union to monitor Ken’s acts to protect Ngat.”

To prevent further cases of violent assault against Ngat from the husband, the commune People’s Committee has asked the women’s union and the local police to follow Ken’s activities, Mai Tan Ly, chairman of the committee, said.

Cao Bang, Guangxi promote cooperation in education

The northern mountainous province of Cao Bang signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on education and training with China’s Guangxi province on December 13.  

The signing was attended by representatives from Cao Bang and a delegation from Guangxi province’s Baise city.

Recently, Cao Bang and Guangxi provinces have cooperated well in such fields as economics and culture. Both provinces have organized meetings to map out orientations to future cooperation in education.

Under the MoU, the two sides committed to cooperating among universities, colleges, and vocational training centres to train human resources for scientific and technological research.

They agreed to prioritize developing agriculture, bio-technology, product processing, and post-harvest conservation, as well as health care, language study and human resources management.

The two provinces will strengthen long-term cooperation among health institutes, businesses, and colleges through student and expert exchanges and in building more modern laboratories.

Both sides will also regularly organize cultural exchanges and visits between lecturers and students to share training experiences.

Another scooter burns on Hanoi street

A woman was driving from Hanoi center to Long Bien district when her scooter suddenly burst into flame at 5pm on Tuesday.

Previously, on crossing Chuong Duong Bridge, the woman was warned by other drivers that there was a spark at her bike’s saddle, close to the gas tank. Panicked, she left the bike to see the fire starting to burn strongly.

After the accident happened, the woman left the scene.

Police in Phuc Tan district used five fire extinguishers but the flame couldn’t be put out within 30 minutes.

The bike was burned down completely and only its frame remained.

The maker has yet to be identified; however, some witnesses said it was a Chinese Bella scooter.

Curious passers-by stopped and watched, causing congestion in the bridge and nearby streets like Tran Nhat Duat, Tran Quang Khai, Yen Phu and Hang Dau.

Hundreds of bikes ran on lanes for cars to get out of the jam.

Hanoi police later showed up to control the traffic and could solve the congestion at 7pm.

Currently, the scooter has been taken to police station for further investigation.

This is the second bike burning accident within a week after an SH motorbike suddenly caught fire in front of the Daewoo Hanoi Hotel at the intersection of Kim Ma and Lieu Giai streets in Ngoc Khanh Ward, Ba Dinh District earlier on Monday.

Int’l NGOs support Vietnam's health care

Assistance from international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is of great significance in achieving the targets set in the national strategy for protecting and improving public health from 2010-2020, with a vision for 2030, a health official has said.

The statement was made by Nguyen Viet Tien, Deputy Minister of Health, at a two-day meeting with NGOs in Hanoi on December 13.

Addressing the meeting, chief representative of UNICEF in Vietnam, Lotta Sylwander, said NGOs should boost their activities and aim to increase the number of local people with access to healthcare services.

Sylwander said that, though the country has gained many achievements in health care over the past 15 years, there remains inequality in access to medical services, especially among ethnic minority groups, and the rural and urban poor.

It is estimated that more than 100 international NGOs are contributing to improving Vietnam’s health care sector through 450 programs and projects in a variety of fields.

Bus inspector beats female passenger

A woman in Dong Nai Province has complained to Tuoi Tre that she was the victims of violent actions taken by a bus inspector who was the same age as her children.

Tran Thi Hanh, 46, a resident of the province’s Bien Hoa City, told the newspaper what happened to her six days ago.

At 5 pm on December 8, Hanh got on the bus with number plate 60V-9722 and got a ticket from a male inspector to whom she paid VND4,000.

After the bus drove for a bit, the inspector came over to her and asked, “Did you buy a ticket?” Hanh replied that she had bought one from him.

A moment later, he came back to Hanh and asked, “Where is your ticket?” Hanh, who was holding the handrail with both her hands, replied: “It’s in my hand. You can check it if you want.”

But the inspector suddenly pushed her down to the floor.

Hanh, who got angry at his violent behavior, said, “I am the age of your mother. How dare you treat me like that! I should slap you on the mouth for your act.”

As soon as Hanh finished her words, the inspector rushed to her and beat her viciously until she was about to pass out.

He then forced Hanh to get off the bus, but Hanh did not follow his order.

When the bus came to its station at the Vung Tau three-way crossroad, Hanh reported the incident to the station’s manager, but the inspector had run away.

Hanh later went to the Dong Nai General Hospital for examination, and doctors confirmed that she had suffered multiple injuries.

The provincial Center for Operation and Management of Public Passenger Transportation said the bus is operated by the Sonadezi Transport Joint Stock Company, and that the inspector that day was Tran Minh Phung.

The center said it has requested that the company investigate the case and submit a report thereafter to form a basis for resolution.

In a similar violent case happened in Hanoi on October 22, Do Huu Long, a bus driver, and his assistant Nguyen Chi Thanh assaulted Nguyen Ngoc Phuc, who boarded the bus at the My Dinh Station to go to Le Van Luong Street.

Before getting on, Phuc asked Thanh if the bus went by that street and was told it did. But other passengers told him that was not true.

Phuc then asked Long to stop so that he could get off and take another bus, but Long refused and, along with Thanh, swore at him and beat him.

The other passengers became angry and demanded that Long and Thanh let the young man get off. Long finally relented and dropped off Phuc on Nguyen Thai Hoc Street.

Hanoi Tramcar Enterprise, the operator of the bus, later dismissed Phuc and Thanh.

More pangolins rescued from smugglers

After Ha Tinh Province’s police rescued 106 pangolins from illegal traders on Sunday, the Hanoi police on Tuesday found another 56 living pangolins being illegally transported in a Toyota Camry.

Early morning on December 13, a special task force of the environmental crime investigation police under the Ministry of Public Security was patrolling the Phap Van – Cau Gie Expressway when they saw a suspicious Toyota Camry and ordered it to stop.

The driver, however, drove on for about 10 km. Then he and another man inside the car left the car and ran to a rice field nearby.

The police later caught the driver but his accomplice had fled. The driver was identified as Nguyen Duy Vui, 35, from Nghe An Province.

Vui couldn’t provide any illegal document to prove the origin of the pangolins, a rare species protected by Vietnamese laws.

Vu later confessed that he had been hired by the man who had escaped to transport the animals from Ha Tinh to Hanoi for trading.

Athlete banned from flight over bomb threat

A 40-year-old wheelchair tennis athlete was excluded from a flight from HCMC to Indonesia yesterday after he said he might be carrying a bomb.

According to security officers at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, as the passenger, Cao Hong Son, was waiting to board his plane, he shouted, “It’s too crowded! There are so many people here pushing each other. If I cast a bomb here, people will die in mass numbers.”

The security force immediately detained Son for questioning and the flight was postponed for security check. The security didn’t find any bomb and the plane took off about an hour later.

According to a source, Son was among a group of Paralympic athletes who had flown from Hanoi to HCMC where they were to join another group on a flight to Indonesia for the 2011 ASEAN Para Games.

Before boarding the plane in Hanoi, Son had drunk some liquor or beer, the source said.

Son told Tuoi Tre he didn’t say anything about having a bomb. All he knew was that a security officer suddenly requested him to leave without explaining why.

He thus didn’t sign the report which accused him of releasing “false information about bombs that endangered the safety of the flight.”

Talking with Tuoi Tre from Indonesia, Vu The Phiet, head of the Vietnamese delegation of Paralympic athletes in Indonesia, said before the plane took off, the airport security informed him that they could not allow Son to board the plane.

Two jailed over anti-state documents

A court in An Giang Province yesterday tried and sentenced to 8 years in jail two local men including a 71-year-old for “abusing rights to democracy and freedom to violate the interests and legitimate rights of organizations and citizens”.

71-year-old Nguyen Van Lia, aka Ba Lia, and 61-year-old Tran Hoai An, alias Tu Tieu, were sentenced to 5 and 3 years imprisonment respectively, according to the Vietnamese version of Vietnam News Agency.

According to the indictment, on April 24, 2011, local police caught Lia bringing with him 15 books and 64 CDs, and 36 documents containing contents that wrongly accused the Vietnamese State of violating human rights and religious freedom.

Lia had earlier confessed to investigators that he and Tieu, in their pen names “Hoang Thuy Nhu Lien” and “Thuy An” respectively, authored those books and documents that were later recorded in the CDs.

In 2007, Lia, An and about 10 others claimed themselves to be a group of followers of the “block of traditional Hoa Hao Buddism”.

The two men asked the other members of the group to put their signatures on the reactionary books, documents and CDs before distributing them to the public with a view to wrongly accusing the Vietnamese State of oppressing religion and violating democratic rights and human rights.

From 2007 to 2010, Lia, An and many others provided foreign mass media and foreign religious delegations with wrong information to accuse the Vietnamese State of suppressing religious activities.

Lia and An also organized visits to the families of many people who died in wars or due to diseases or from other causes, and posthumously honored the deceased as martyrs.

Lia had received funding from some individuals abroad and then handed the money to the families of many people who were serving their sentences in prisons.

At court, the two men pleaded guilty to acting against the State, wrongly criticizing Hoa Hao Buddhism that has been recognized by the State, and sowing division within Buddhism.

They said they had committed such wrongdoings since they have low education levels and little knowledge of the law.

A video clip capturing the violent scene of a group of schoolgirls fighting, and the uninterested passivity of schoolboys, at a classroom in a high school in Bac Giang northern province has attracted thousands of hits on YouTube, the popular video-sharing site.

In the video clip posted on YouTube on December 9, a group of schoolgirls rush into a classroom to search for another schoolgirl before swearing at a girl wearing a yellow T-shirt.

They then begin a bitter argument with the girl, who is believed to be their foe.

The quarrel becomes uncontrollable as a school-girl in a grey T-shirt continually slaps her face and snatches her hair, while another girl in a blue T-shirt climbs onto a table and repeatedly kicks the victim’s head.

There were a number of schoolboys observing the fight, but none of them intervened to protect the victim.

According to a source, the schoolgirls are currently studying at a private school in Quynh Son commune, Yen Dung district of Bac Giang.

Just a few days ago, another video clip on YouTube capturing 20 schoolgirls in Ha Tinh central province participating in a catfight while many schoolboys gathered around them and cheered also caused a stir among the online community.

A 3-minute video clip posted on Youtube on November 28 depicting three girls violently attacking another girl wearing a blue T-shirt amidst cheers and encouragement from bystanders created a similar public outrage.
VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre