Study society helps disadvantaged pupils

Over 3.5 million disadvantaged students and teachers nationwide were given support from the Viet Nam Study Promotion Society last year, the society reported yesterday in central Phu Yen province's Tuy Hoa City.

With 8.5 million members across the country, the society, founded in 1996, has established 10,700 community study centres where people can access and exchange knowledge and experiences in education, production, health and Government's policies.

Nearly 25,000 drug-related cases discovered

Photo: VOV

For these achievements, the Department received an emulation flag from the Government on December 28.

Drug trafficking and drug-related crime have become very complicated with am increasing rate of drug-users in recent times.

The investigation police have worked closely with other relevant forces from the Ministry of National Defence and the General Department of Customs to crack down on drug-related criminals.

Mass grave of war martyrs unearthed in Quang Ngai

The remains of 10 soldiers were found at a mass grave site in the Central province of Quang Ngai on December 28 by the Pho Thanh communal People’s Committee and the Duc Pho district military.

After learning about a mass grave in Vuon Dat Hill area, the local military succeeded in finding the remains of ten fallen soldiers along with their belongings such as mirrors, combs, wallets, backpacks, guns and bullets.

Pham Thanh Cong from the Duc Pho district Military Steering Committee confirmed the excavation and Phan Van Co from the Pho Thach communal Party Committee said the soldiers belonged to Division No 2, Military Zone 5.

Airport fined over man sleeping in plane engine hold

The Transport Ministry Inspectorate has fined the Buon Ma Thuot Airport in Dak Lak Province for its poor security control, which led to a serious case in which a drunken man entered and slept in the engine compartment of an outgoing plane.

If the case had not been discovered in time by the pilot, a serious incident with immeasurable consequences would have impacted the flight, the Inspectorate said.

The incident occurred on October 14, 2011, but airway authorities had not announced it until recently, when they completed an investigation into the unprecedented case and issued a decision to fine the airport authorities VND25 million (US$1,220) for its loose security management.

At 6 pm that day, when VN1602 flight operated by Vietnam Airlines was about to take off from the airport for its journey to Ho Chi Minh City, the pilot saw a strange man enter the runway near the plane and then disappear.

The pilot immediately shut down the engines and informed the air traffic control station and airport security of what he had seen.

An inspection team was sent to the scene and then caught a man sleeping in the Airbus 320 plane’s engine compartment. He was woken up and, in a panic, fell onto the runway.

The man, under the influence of alcohol, was escorted to the security office for questioning.
The flight was delayed for 80 minutes due to the incident.

The man later identified himself as Le Van Man, 30, of the Thai ethnic minority group in Nghe An Province. Man said he had come to Ea Sup District, Dak Lak Province to live and work as a farmer.

After investigation, the Inspectorate decided not to charge Man for violating flight safety regulations, given that he has a low education level and is ignorant of laws.

Meanwhile, the inspectors blamed the incident on the airport’s poor control over security.
The airport has no walls surrounding the facility, and at the time when Man entered the runway, there were no security guards on duty there, the inspectors said.

If the airport had maintained full-time control of the runway neither Man, nor anyone else, would have been able to commit such a bizarre act, the Inspectorate concluded.

Man in court for embezzling $900,000

Police of central Quang Nam Province has prosecuted a warehouse keeper of Nong Son Coal and Electricity Joint Stock Company for embezzlement of VND19 billion (US$900,000).

The warehouse keeper Nguyen Thi Han, 44, of Nong Son District, colluded with eight drivers to falsify documents about the volume of coal transported from the store since August, 2010.

The case was uncovered last Friday when the eight coal trucks were inspected. Initial investigation shows that 15,600 tonnes of coal were stolen, worth nearly VND19 billion ($900,000) so far.

HCMC fashion shop stabbing caused by staff’s insult

The mass stabbing incident at Song Nhac fashion shop on Ho Chi Minh City’s Nguyen Trai Street last Monday evening started from a staff’s insult directed at a a customer, found police in District 5 after gathering testimony from those involved.

Ly Thu Nga (27), a Vietnamese Australian, said she went to the shop that evening with a 10th grader. She was asked by the staff to take off her coat and put it in a locker before stepping inside. They feared that she could steal a new coat by switching it with her old one..However, Nga refused to do so, saying that her coat was bought in Australia.

“I told them there are no coats like mine in the shop. A staff member, in a loud voice, said there are many similar coats in the shop, and some that are even more expensive,” Nga said.

Shocked and humiliated, Nga got into a fight with the staff and security guards. She felt she was in a disadvantageous position, so she picked up her phone and called her boyfriend, 36 year old Nguyen Ngoc Tri, who she met recently.

“I just wanted his protection from those who insulted me,” she said.

“When the two women (Nga and the 10th grader) arrived, I welcomed them cordially,” said Tran Trong Nghia (57), a security guard who was stabbed.

He said he and his son, Tran Trong Thanh (32), asked her to deposit the coat in a locker in accordance with the shop’s regulations. Since it was crowded inside and there were no available lockers, he told Nga to put her coat into the bike trunk.

“She disagreed loudly, and said how expensive her coat was and started to swear,” said Nghia.

However, Nghia confirmed that Vo Quoc Tuan, a worker at the shop, said there were more expensive coats in the shop upon seeing Nga acting high and mighty.

A few minutes later, a big man on a white SH scooter arrived. He asked her girlfriend what was going on, and then turned to ask the staff why they thought she would steal.

“When I saw the staff shouting, I angrily took out a knife from my bike trunk just to threaten them,” said Tri, who stabbed one man dead, at the police station.

Spotting Tri’s knife, Tuan, who had previously humiliated Nga, ran inside and climbed upstairs.

“Staff members used an iron pole to beat me. Since I had a knife in my hand, I dashed inside and stabbed around. I can’t remember how many people I stabbed, or where I injured them,” said Tri.

He then ran outside and threw away the knife as he was being chased on Huynh Man Dat street. Tri later took a xe om, or motorbike taxi, to An Binh hospital.

Since that hospital is close to the scene of the incident, Tri received only first aid, and then went to hospital 115 in District 10 for further treatment.

When Nga came to visit Tri, police arrived and seized the two.

Five victims were hospitalized in nearby Nguyen Trai hospital. Huynh Chi Thang (25), from Ben Tre, died after he was stabbed in the heart.

Major Ngo Tan Tai, deputy head of the police Department of Criminal Investigation in Social Order in District 5, said the incident is a warning for stores operating during Tet holiday.

“This is the time when people often go shopping, especially in fashion stores. Owners need to educate their staff on how to show respect to customers, and avoid provocative words which may lead to pitiful cases like this,” he said.

According to Tuoi Tre’s source, Tri was previously involved in a case where he intentionally caused injury to people in 1999, and was sentenced to an 18 month suspension.

Meanwhile, local government officials also confirmed that the staff at Song Nhac shop has gotten into fights with shoppers due to bad customer service before.

US$1.5 million to help flood affected areas

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has approved funds of nearly US$1.5 million to support four Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces to help repair areas affected by floods.

The money will be part of the Agriculture and Rural Development Sector Programme Support for the 2007-12 period, funded by Denmark.

Provinces seeking financial assistance include An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Hau Giang.

The Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry has been assigned to allocate the money and instruct local authorities on how to best use the money according to regulations.

Former principal given life sentence for murder

Nguyen Thanh An, former principal of a primary school in the Mekong Delta’s Bac Lieu Province, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing his colleague.

The 39-year-old man, who used to be in charge of the primary school C of Phuoc Long Commune, also had to pay VND150 million for compensation.

An killed the 29-year-old Tran Viet Trieu and injured the 37-year-old Bui Thanh Dang after quarrelling with them at a school party in the library on June 24, 2011.

In court, An admitted that he had caused the serious offense due to failure in restraining his anger, which was accompanied by alcoholic drink, after being disparaging and insulting by Trieu.

Trieu asked An to solve a math exercise of senior high school. When An failed to do it, Trieu then laughed at the rector’s degree, which he obtained by learning extra classes when already working.

An grasped a knife and slashed Trieu on his neck, and then turned it to Dang when Dang tried to stop him, causing a 21 percent permanent injury for the latter.

An left the scene after committing the crime, but turned him in a day later.

The trial of the case has attracted a large number of participants because of its circumstances.

Thieves steal $47.5K from police official

Thieves have burglarized the house of Major-General Vu Hung Vuong, Deputy Head of the General Department for Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security, and stolen assets worth around VND1 billion (US$47,585).

Police in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, where Vuong and his family reside, said the heist occurred around 8:50pm on December 25, when nobody was home.

The police said the thieves took VND550 million in cash, 21 taels of gold, US$500, AUS500, KRW (South Korean won) 40,000, a silver necklace, a watch, a knife, and a pair of scissors.

Police are investigating the crime.

HCM City container scanner system operational

The General Department of Customs yesterday launched a container scanning system at Lao Bao International Gate in the central province of Quang Tri.

The container scanning system is a semi-mobile German-made product, capable of scanning through more than 180mm of steel and more than 20 containers in an hour.

This is the third scanning system used in Viet Nam, with the others in HCM City's Cat Lai Port and Hai Phong Port. Funding for the system came from US$10 million in aid from Japan.

Three HCMC radio officials have press cards revoked

The Ministry of Information and Communications has revoked the press cards of the former director of the Radio Voice of Ho Chi Minh City (VOH), Nguyen Chau Ky, and his two deputies, Pham Trong Quoc and Tong Dinh Hong, for their wrongdoings.

On November 24, the committee appointed Tran Van Thuan, deputy head of the Party Committee’s Commission for Propaganda and Education, to the post of Director of VOH, replacing Ky.

A number of staff members at VOH had earlier lodged complaints to relevant agencies against Ky and his two deputies, alleging that they were irresponsible in financial management, and violated democratic principles in personnel management.

After investigating the allegations, the HCMC Inspectorate confirmed they were true, and urged the city People’s Committee to take action against the three officials for their offenses.

As for Hong, the committee agreed to allow him to retire on January 1, 2012.

Project to improve city planning in Hue

A US$3.75million project to upgrade the planning for Hue City has been jointly launched by the Korea International Co-operation Agency (KOICA) and the central Thua Thien Hue Province People's Committee.

The project aims to re-check the current city planning and adjust the planning work by 2030 with a vision to 2050 to boost the local socio-economic development.

It is scheduled to be completed in July 2013.

Student dies of electric shock at school

A grade 10 student, Nguyen Chi Doi, at Thu Xa High School in Nghia Hoa District, Quang Ngai Province, died on the way to hospital after receiving an electric shock yesterday, Dec 28.

At 9 am Wednesday, Doi and several of his classmates were going downstairs during their break when he accidentally touched a metal part of the ventilation system in the staircase and got an electric shock that caused his arm to become stuck to a wire.

One of Doi’s classmates tried to pull him out of the wire and was also shocked, but he was able to withdraw his arm, and then used a pen to push Doi out of the wire.

The school management was informed and the 15-year-old student was given first aid before he was taken to hospital, but he died on the way.

Local police were called to the scene to investige the cause of the electrocution.

“The school’s electric system was set up in 1998, and has not been replaced with a new one due to an insufficient budget,” Pham Dinh Khang, vice headmaster of the school told the police.

The school repairs the system every year, but it is still not operating safely, he added.

The electrical systems inside and outside many other schools in Quang Ngai are also unsafe, endangering everyone, including students and teachers, the police said.

The many tangled, complex systems of electric wires and telecom cables that surround the schools can cause electrical shorts that can lead to electrocution or fire any time, the police warned.

Music to help foster healing at hospitals

A humanitarian programme called Bring music to hospital has been officially launched on Tuesday in efforts to use music for healing pains and ease working pressure that doctors and patients stand due to overload in hospitals.

As scheduled, voluntary artists will visit each hospital every two weeks to perform live music.

Another motorbike mysteriously catches fire

After a series of motorbikes burst into fire across the country, an Attila Elizabeth met the same fate yesterday afternoon, Dec 28, in Hanoi, becoming the 30th reported case so far.

At 2 pm Wednesday, as Chu Hoai Giang was riding the vehicle on Tran Phu Street in Ba Dinh District, its engine suddenly failed and cut out. Giang was then informed by locals that the vehicle’s engine was on fire.

Giang immediately got off the bike and locals helped him put out the fire using fire extinguishers.

Thanks to the rapid response of the locals, the fire only burned a few parts of the vehicle, Giang said.

The petrol tank was full at the time, so if the fire had spread to it, the bike may have burned completely, the owner added.

The Attila Elizabeth was bought by his wife from an agent of the SYM firm in Hanoi in January of 2008.

He filled the petrol tank on December 26 at a station near Le Quy Dong street.

Before the fire, 29 motorbikes and two cars had exploded into flames without any noticeable cause in different parts of the country, the Ministry of Public Security reported.

Experts recently said that unqualified petrol might be to blame for the fires, which have occurred in the past several months across the country.

Instead of adding pure ethanol (C2H5OH) to gasoline at an allowable proportion, gasoline producers use methanol (CH3OH) containing foreign matter and water, resulting in a much lower octane value in the finished product than in the gasoline mixed with ethanol.

“That means gasoline with methanol is more easily burned by the ignition of the spark plug than gasoline with ethanol,” Thi Hong Xuan, of the Engineering and Technology Department of the HCMC Agriculture and Forestry University, told Tuoi Tre.

Methanol is cheaper than ethanol, and will allow traders of gasoline mixed with the chemical to achieve higher profits, Xuan added.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre