Former official wanted for fraud

The Ha Noi People's Procuracy has approved a request by the municipal Police Department to pursue former deputy director of the Ministry of Finance's Department of Finance in Administrative Agencies Tran Anh Tuan for alleged abuse of power and fraud.

Tuan allegedly abused his power while on public duty and appropriated up to VND80 billion (US$3.8 million) worth of property from numerous enterprises and individuals.

He is currently travelling abroad.

Four dead in canoe sinking in Binh Duong

For illustration only. (Photo: Internet)

All the victims lived in Giang Huong Hamlet, An Lap Commune, Dau Tieng District.

The deadly incident occurred at 9 am January 27, when Dung was paddling the canoe, with the three children on board, on the river to collect water-fern plants floating on the water surface to feed her flock of ducks, local residents said.

When the canoe was about 35 meters from the bank of the river, a strong wave capsized the canoe and plunged all the four into the water, according to witnesses.

Locals who live along the river said they had tried to rescue the victims but failed due to swift flowing currents caused by a high tide.

Thailand, Vietnam sign MoU on public health

Thai Public Health Ministry has expressed readiness to assist Vietnam in developing its universal healthcare coverage scheme, scheduled to be implemented in 2014, according to National News Bureau of Thailand.

Thai Minister of Public Health Wittaya Buranasiri and his Vietnamese counterpart, Dr. Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on public health cooperation between the two nations. The MoU requires Thailand to provide assistance to Vietnam in the development of the latter’s universal health coverage system, which will be launched in 2014.

As part of the MoU, an exchange program will also be initiated between hospitals of both countries to exchange knowledge in health insurance and financial support systems. Under this exchange program Thailand’s Rajavithi Hospital will partner with Vietnam’s Bach Mai Hospital while the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health will be paired with the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics.

Additionally, the two countries will collaborate to enhance their potentials in monitoring and handling emerging infectious diseases, such as SARS and avian influenza.

Thailand’s success in the universal health-care coverage scheme has been widely accepted. Mr. Wittaya stated that Thailand is willing to give its full support to any country which seeks its assistance on the issue, especially a country belonging to the same region, such as Vietnam.

Canadian dies in HCMC due to drug overdose

A Canadian man died in a rented house on Ung Van Khiem street, in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh district, after overusing a drug to enhance his sexual performance last Friday.

At 9.30pm, Donald (56) took his girlfriend, Tran Thi Tuyet Nhi (29), back to his rented house to have sex.

After that, he went to the bathroom while his girlfriend remained in bed. A few minutes later, the Canadian called for help.

Nhi opened the door to find Donald lying still on the ground. She shouted for help and had neighbors bring him to the Columbia Asia International Hospital on No Trang Long Street, Binh Thanh district.

However, the man died on the way.

Authorities said on Sunday the cause of death is possibly the overuse of sexual enhancement drug.

Germany helps the disabled integrate into community

A functional rehabilitation programme funded by the German organisation, Caritas, has helped disabled people in central Quang Tri province integrate into the community. 

The VND12 billion (US$570,000) programme has provided functional rehabilitation for 540 disabled people in 20 wards and communes in Dong Ha city and Gio Linh and Cam Lo districts. 

The programme has daily sent 30 instructors to households to guide them in how to care for and help the disabled undertake an exercise programme. 

Annually, it has opened training courses on basic knowledge of health care and functional rehabilitation for the disabled. 

Quang Tri province is now home to more than 6,000 disabled children.

Bank employees to face trial for embezzlement

Six employees of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) in Hanoi are likely to face criminal charges for embezzling VND46 billion ($2.2 million) for gambling.

The Hanoi police has concluded that this case of “property embezzlement, gambling, and irresponsibility causing serious consequences” caused a loss of VND46 billion to the bank.

Of the 6 employees, 3 from Agribank’s My Duc District branch - tellers Le Quang Khai and Nguyen Thanh Hai, and head of the budget accounting department Le Van Hien - have appropriated the amount by illegally transferring money from customers’ accounts to their own accounts.

The other 3 - head and vice head of the Kenh Dao transaction office Nguyen Van Nghi and Tran Van Hai, and teller cum post-checker Hoang Huu Hop, may be charged with lax management.

According to the investigation, Le Quang Khai knew about the IBET football betting website through his former high school classmate Pham Van Quyet, who lives Dai Nghia Town, My Duc District.

Khai then enticed Nguyen Thanh Hai and Le Van Hien to join him in betting at the website.

The defendants used this website to bet for a series of football matches around the world. At first, Le Van Hien won about VND2 billion, while Hai and Khai won around VND100 million.

Last October, Hien, via Khai, asked for a betting account for his own and Quyet gave him one that was worth VND250 million. Hien then used the new account and lost about VND12 billion.

Hien then, via Khai again, asked to raise the money in the account up to VND1.5 billion.

In January 2011, Nguyen Thanh Hai also asked for a private account worth VND750 million and played until he lost about VND10 billion, of which the biggest loss was VND2 billion in a single week.

After losing so much, Khai and Hai joined hands to illegally withdraw the money 177 customers depositing at their saving accounts in Huong Son and Kenh Dao transaction offices under Agribank’s My Duc District branch by using the accounts and passwords of the head of the bank.

Khai withdrew VND34 billion from 159 accounts and Hai, VND11 billion from 18 accounts.

The Hanoi police have charged Pham Van Quyet with organizing gambling, but have yet arrested him.

For the leaders of the Huong Son transaction office, there were errors in the protection of account numbers and passwords, but at the time of the case, they had been on leave so may not be charged for criminal acts.

According to the investigation, Khai and Hai were able to appropriate such a great amount of money from customers’ deposits for a long period of time without being detected because they were covered by Le Van Hien.

The remaining defendants, who didn’t receive any benefit in the embezzlement, would be charged with irresponsibility causing serious consequences.

Businessman who cons beauty queen arrested

Police from the Ministry of Public Security has detained chairman and director of the Phuc An Thinh Construction and Trading Joint Stock Company for conning many people, including 2006 Miss Sea Vu Ngoc Diep, out of at least VND18 billion (US$860,000).

Truong Ngoc Dung, 42, has been charged with “swindling to appropriate assets” and “counterfeiting documents of state agencies and organizations,” police said.

The Ho Chi Minh City police earlier said it received complaints from many people, including 2006 Miss Sea Vu Ngoc Diep, accusing Dung and his company of forging documents to purport as a land dealer.

Diep, a Hanoi native, told the police she had signed a contract with the Phuc An Thinh last August to buy two plots of land at the Thanh My Loi housing project in District 2.

Under the terms of the contract, she was to receive possession of the land no later than January 31, 2011. The land cost VND4.54 billion (US$221,000) and Diep paid VND1 billion as an advance.

Phuc An Thinh executives had told Diep the company was authorized by Phu Nhuan One-member Housing Construction and Trading Company Limited, the project developer, to sell the land plots.

The deadline came and went but there was no word from Phuc An Thinh. When Diep went to its office to seek an explanation, the company told her to wait.

A company representative then tried to assuage her with what seemed a document issued by Phu Nhuan that authorized the company to sell land in the project. But in late May, when she visited the project site, Diep discovered someone else was occupying her land.

Another victim was Nguyen Van Huan, director of the Dat Vang Real Estate Joint Stock Company and the Technology Key Co., Ltd., both located in HCMC’s District 3, who reported to the police that Dung had swindled him of VND17 billion ($815,000).

Huan paid the amount to Dung as a security for several business contracts signed between them. But as Dung later failed to execute the contracts, he did not return the money to Huan.

Huan said Dung showed him a decision on land allocation, which the latter said had been issued by the District 3 People’s Committee, as evidence for his execution of one of the signed contracts.

Huan later discovered the document was fake.

The police are expanding their investigation to clarify Dung’s swindling activities and identify how much money he had actually appropriated from his victims.

Kidney donor found for victim of doctor’s malpractice

Hue Central Hospital in Hue City has found a suitable kidney donor for 37-year-old Hua Cam Tu whose two kidneys were mistakenly removed by a doctor in Can Tho City last December.

The donor is a healthy woman in Can Tho City, who is about the same age as Tu, said Prof. Dr Bui Duc Phu, director of the hospital.

Earlier, another donor had been found in late last year but after some tests were made, the doctors concluded that the donor’s kidney was not appropriate to be transplanted on Tu, Phu said.

The accident happened when Tu underwent laparoscopic surgery at Can Tho General Hospital on December 6 after being diagnosed with hydronephrosis of the left kidney, an enlargement due to a urinary tract obstruction.

Dr. Tran Van Nguyen, head of the surgical team, was operating on the left kidney when he mistakenly ‘touched’ the right kidney and caused severe bleeding that could not be stopped.

Nguyen said his team had no choice but to remove both kidneys to save Tu’s life, since she had horseshoe kidneys, a very rare kind of kidney, which made it difficult to stop the severe bleeding.

With both kidneys removed, Tu will have to remain on dialysis for the rest of her life, unless she receives a transplant.

Suspended after his mistake, Nguyen pledged he would bear all expenses on dialysis until Tu can have a kidney transplant.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre