Boat crew released by pirates after 8 months

All 24 crew members aboard a Vietnamese-owned cargo ship returned home safely last Friday after eight months of being detained by Somali pirates. The crew members were greeted at Noi Bai International Airport by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their relatives. The ship's owner, the Hoang Son Co, said the ship was seized by pirates on January 17 off the coast of Oman, en route from Iran to Xiamen Port in China.

Over 200 motorbikes seized over illegal races

More than 100 motorcycles impounded from daredevil riders on evening of September 24 and early morning of September 25 on some major streets in Binh Thanh District. (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

The first race broke out at 9:00 pm on September 24 when many young men on motorcycles, which are modified to be more competitive, gathered at some areas in Binh Thanh, Go Vap, 1, 4 districts to prepare for their races.

Traffic officers and several criminal policemen in plain clothes set up some checking-points to prevent the illegal races and then raided dozens of cases.

By 3:00 am on September 25, due to absence of the police, thousands of young racers gathered again on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street in Binh Thanh District to perform stunts and to race furiously on the street amid deafening applause from many audience on the both sidewalks.

One hour later, traffic police in Binh Thanh District suddenly appeared and seized a total of 130 motorbikes from the daredevil motorcyclists.

Police in District 4 also impounded around 100 motorcycles after rounding up some illegal races.

Rallying in large numbers to ride at fast speeds is illegal and is dubbed “di bao” in Vietnam, translated as “tempestuous rides”.

Seminar reviews HIV prevention projects

Three US-funded HIV/AIDS prevention projects which have been carried out in the central province of Nghe An and the northern city of Hai Phong have helped reduce the spread of the epidemic after three years of implementation, according to an assessment made at a seminar in Ha Noi last Friday.

The seminar reviewed the results of projects funded by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in these two localities that have high rates of HIV infections.

The projects focused on prevention efforts among populations of fishermen and homosexuals, provision of healthcare services for people living with HIV, and control of HIV transmission among women in relationships with HIV-infected men or drug addicts.

Victim’s family demands death sentence for killer

The family of a man killed by gangsters hired by a 50-year-old entrepreneur has appealed against the life sentence given to the businessman and demanded capital punishment instead.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on September 9 sentenced Ngo Quang Truong, director of Hoang Hai Housing Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company, to life for hiring hit men to kill his deputy Dang Xuan Sy for threatening to expose his fraudulent business practices.

In its appeal, Sy’s family said it was unreasonable for Truong, the mastermind, to receive such a sentence while Vu Van Luan, whom Truong hired to kill Sy, was sentenced to death.

Truong too has appealed, but to claim he had just told Luan to assault and intimidate Sy into withdrawing his accusations. He also claimed that Luan had hired others to kill Sy on his own volition.

Sy and Truong jointly established Hoang Hai in 2000, and six years later Sy discovered his partner’s fraudulent acts like falsifying compensation documents and selling land lots before completing site clearance and compensation procedures.

He reported to the HCMC Planning and Investment Department. In September 2009 Truong hired Luan, a gangster from Hai Phong.

At the trial, prosecutors had asked for the death penalty for both Luan and Truong.

But Truong had showed repentance and volunteered to pay the damages of VND750 million (US$36,000) claimed by Sy’s family, the court said.

There was no ground to conclude Truong had intended to kill Sy, it decided.

Ngo Chi Huan and Tran Van Khoa, who were hired by Luan to kill Sy, both got 20 years. Bui Quoc Huy was sentenced to 14 years for being an accomplice in the murder.

Vietnam, France beef up medical cooperation

A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health led by Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien is on a working visit to France from Sept. 22-27. 

During its stay in France, the Vietnamese delegation had working sessions with the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Ministry of Health to discuss assistance projects on the upgrading and purchase of equipment for Hanoi Medical University, and the building of a general hospital in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho. 

Minister Tien held talks with her French counterpart, Nora Berra, during which they reviewed traditional bilateral cooperation, especially the implementation of an agreement on medical and pharmaceutical cooperation signed in February 1993. They agreed to sign more agreements on intensive research projects. 

She asked France to help the country in areas such as intensive training, technological transfer and measures to treat infected and uninfected diseases. 

During the visit, the Vietnamese health officials made fact-finding tours of French research institutes and universities, which have provided assistance to Vietnam in training. 

On the occasion, Minister Tien presented “For People’s Health” insignias to a number of French professors and doctors, who have greatly contributed to Vietnam’s health sector.

Food makers urged to improve hygiene

A seminar on food safety held in Ha Noi yesterday, Sep 25, said the number of food poisoning cases had fallen, but unhygienic food handling conditions continue to cause serious problems.

According to the Ministry of Health, up to 7,000 food poisoning cases were reported last year, although the actual number might be far larger due to the lack of a system for reporting cases.

Participants at the seminar agreed that raising producer awareness was of crucial importance and that this would require greater efforts from both authorities and consumers.

Falling tree kills Indonesian tourist

A century-old tree fell on a group of foreign tourists in Da Lat Saturday afternoon, killing an Indonesian tourist and injuring 6 others.

The tourists were waiting for their turn to get on the chutes of Dalat Datanla Waterfall Tourist Park when the tree suddenly became uprooted and fell down on them.

The tree, which may be a hundred-year-old, has a 6-centimeter diameter and 15-meter height, Nguyen Duy Dung, deputy director of the park said.

The accident caused the park’s entire chute system to stop working; therefore the injured tourists were carried off on stretches by local staff to the place where the ambulances were waiting.

It was 400-meter far from the accident scene.

28-year-old Ignatins Adri Aristion died on his way to the hospital and 2 of the six tourists are still in critical condition.

Doctors at Lam Dong General Hospital said Ignatins’ death resulted from traumatic brain injury.

It was not immediately clear what caused the tree to topple over, police said.

Dalat, a famous vacation city of Lam Dong province is about 310 kilometers northeast of Ho Chi Minh city.

Holcim Viet Nam offers scholarships

Two-hundred and twenty-five students at universities, high schools and primary schools in HCM City have received scholarships worth a total of VND400 million (US$19,000) for the new school year from cement producer Holcim Viet Nam.

Since 2008, Holcim Viet Nam has offered these scholarships to helped children who live in outlying areas.

Bus driver in crash that killed 4 in Hue charged

The driver of a bus that plunged into a paddy field in Hue central city killing four and injuring 11 on Saturday has been charged with ‘reckless driving’ that causes serious consequences, said Investigation Police of Hue’s Phu Loc District on Saturday.

The 44-year-old driver has also been put in custody for four months.

Earlier at 4:45pm on September 24, while heading for Dak Lak central highlands province from Hue, Thuan loss control and plunged into a paddy field on National Highway 1A located in Loc Dien Commune in Phu Loc District.

The accident left 4 passengers dead and 11 others injured, 5 of whom are being treated in Hue General Hospital due to their severe wounds.

The perished were identified as Nguyen Thi He, 65, and Tran Duy Anh, 43, (local residents), Le Thi Lai, 46, and Le Thi A, 58, from Dak Lak central highlands province.

Local authorities have provided financial support of VND3 million (US$1,500) to each family of the dead and VND2 million to each injured.

However, the actual cause of the accident remains unknown.

Poor students given school assistance

An exchange programme was held at the Hanoi Opera House on September 24 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam Study Encouragement Association and raise funds for disadvantaged children.

The programme honoured individuals that overcame difficulties to study well in school. It also called on donors nationwide to join hands in helping children, including those with disabilities, to go to school.

Dr Pham Tat Dong, Secretary General of the Vietnam Study Encouragement Association, said that over the past 15 years, the Association has provided many scholarships and awards for outstanding disadvantaged students. “I do believe that many handicapped children have talents and we are working closely with businesspeople to help them become useful citizens,” he added.

In late August, representatives of the Vietnam Study Encouragement Association visited and handed over scholarships, insurance cards, and cash to hundreds of students in Bac Ninh and Ha Nam provinces and Haiphong city.

Drug firms accuse health czar of corruption

The Central Steering Board for Anti-Corruption is investigating an allegation of possible corruption against the head of the Drug Administration of Vietnam related to medicine import and distribution.

Seven joint stock companies - Imexpharm, Agimexpharm, S. Pharm, Minh Hai, Tipharco, Pymepharco, and Khanh Hoa - and the Vietnam-German joint venture Stada-Vietnam, all based in the south, had alleged that Truong Quoc Cuong only allotted medicine import quotas to drug firms if he personally “benefited.”

For instance, he had helped BV Pharma and some other companies import tons of pseudoephedrine used in making medicines for cold, rhinitis, sinusitis and other conditions in just a few days, while normally it took at least six months to get a permit, they claimed.

He also generally supported foreign pharmaceutical companies more because of the “benefit” he got from them, they alleged.

Last year the health ministry had banned sabutramine, a medicine that causes many side effects, following a warning from the World Health Organization, but Cuong signed a document in June 2010 allowing some Indian, Pakistani, South Korean, Bangladeshi and other companies to sell out their sabutramine stocks, they said.

He allowed many companies to import drugs that can be manufactured domestically, they said.

Tran Thi Dao, Imexpharm general director, told Tuoi Tre that Cuong’s wrongdoings “have affected the pharmaceutical sector’s prestige and caused damage to the sector’s trading and production activities.”

The complainants have promised to stand by their accusations and provide relevant agencies further information and evidence related to Cuong’s actions.

Cuong did not answer Tuoi Tre’s calls while Tran Quang Trung, the ministry’s Chief Inspector, refused to comment since the accusation was being considered by the ministry.

An official from the Central Steering Board for Anti-Corruption told Tuoi Tre that his agency had held a meeting with the ministry’s Inspection Department that it would comment when an official conclusion was reached.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre