Woman flees with $1.46 mil debt

A 50-year-old woman has fled from her residence in Phan Thiet City after declaring bankruptcy, leaving behind a total debt of about VND30 billion (US$1.46 million).
Investigators said there were signs of swindling when Phan Thi Kim Lien pledged high interest rates (2-3% per month) and obtained billions of dongs in loans from small traders at Phan Thiet Market and pawnshops.
Many of Lien’s victims had obtained secured loans from commercial banks to lend to Lien to earn the difference as Lien promised much higher rates.
Lien is the owner of Binh Lien Private Enterprise, which is located on the city’s Ngo Si Lien Street and specializes in cesspool draining.
Besides, Binh Lien also operates as a pawn shop.
A man named T. told police that he has lent Lien more than 5.4 billion ($262,400) and is now the biggest among Lien’s creditors.
After knowing Lien has fled, many of her creditors flocked to Binh Tien office in an attempt to seize Lien’s assets but they were stopped by police.

The city police said it had transferred the case to the Ninh Thuan Province Police Department for further investigation.

UNESCO group to highlight youth's role in sustainability

The role of youth in fostering sustainable development that balances economic and social targets will be one of the main issues discussed at the 8th International Congress of the World Federation of UNESCO Associations in Ha Noi from August 18 to 22.

Nguyen Xuan Thang, chairman of the Viet Nam Federation of UNESCO Associations (VFUA), said at a press conference held last week in HCM City that the focus on youth issues stemmed from the fact that 2011 had been designated International Year of the Youth by the United Nations.

As the host organisation, the VFUA has selected and assigned singer Tran Nguyen Uyen Linh to be the Goodwill Ambassador for youth issues at this event.

In this role, she would join VFUA in spreading the important messages of UNESCO and the UN.

The congress would be an important and remarkable international event held in the country this year, providing an opportunity to introduce the country and the people of Viet Nam and highlight the nation's economic, social and cultural achievements, Thang said.

Han Manh Tien, chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Corporate Directors (VACD), said around 300 international delegates from non-governmental UNESCO movements worldwide were expected to attend the congress.

The congress would include many activities to celebrate the 30th founding anniversary of the World Federation of UNESCO Associations and to review UNESCO activities over the past few decades, he said.

During the congress, the VFUA and VACD will co-organise the Viet Nam Information Forum on Projects – Enterprises – Entrepreneurs.

The forum, held August 19-20, would be attended by local and international enterprises. It would be an opportunity for local enterprises to introduce their projects, products and services. It would also help them discuss issues of common concern with international businesses and organisations.

Outstanding enterprises and entrepreneurs would be selected for receiving the "For the cause of UNESCO – Sustainable Development of Enterprises" award, forum organisers said.

An International Music Festival and exhibitions on the cultural, scientific and educational achievements of Viet Nam would also be held under the auspices of the congress.

Well known singers and bands from several countries will perform at the music festival to be held in Bao Son Paradise, Ha Noi. Local stars performing at the event will include Tung Duong, Ho Ngoc Ha, Ho Quynh Huong and Dam Vinh Hung.

Established in 1993, the VFUA now has nearly 7,000 registered members and about 150,000 others who regularly join in its activities.

12-year-old girl gives birth, police suspects rape

Hanoi’s Central Obstetrics Hospital has helped a 12-year-old girl, who is suspected of being raped, to give birth to a 2.7 kg baby.

Doctors at the hospital had to perform a surgery to take the baby out.

Tran Thi V., from Dong Hung District, Thai Binh Province was hospitalized on June 23 in critical conditions as her fetus had entered the 37th week but her reproductive organs and hipbones were not developed enough to give birth safely.

The sixth grader was discharged on June 27 and was the youngest expectant mother the hospital had ever treated, the doctors said.

Phap Luat Newspaper cited a source saying that V. was raped by a 62-year-old man named Dang Van L., a neighbor of her family.

After the surgery, the hospital gave the samples of V.’s hair and blood of the umbilical cord to the police for DNA testing to identify the baby’s father.

According to V.’s relatives, after divorce, V.’s mother went abroad and left V. to the care of her grandmother.

Three months ago, the mother returned to Vietnam and was surprised to see V’s growing abdomen. She took her daughter to a doctor, who later said V. was 6 months pregnant.

The police are investigating.

EU to help Viet Nam reduce poverty

The European Delegation to Viet Nam yesterday announced that it had disbursed a total of 29 million euros (US$41million) in grants to support poverty reduction in Viet Nam.

Emmanuel Mersch, the EU's charge d'affaires, said that the disbursement corresponded with the EU Delegation's ongoing support of two development programmes in Viet Nam, both of which ended in 2010. Viet Nam's Socio Economic Development Plan (SEDP) in the period of 2006-10 received 17 million euros while the remaining 12 million euros went to support Programme 135 Phase II (period of 2006-10), which supported the socio-economic development of communes and villages in mountainous and ethnic minority areas.

According to Tran Thuy Dung, an official with the EU's collaboration and development committee who was directly involved with supporting peverty reduction programme 135, the delay of the disbursement was due to the unstable macroeconomy in Viet Nam last year which had not satisfied the EU donor's conditions for the grant. "Results from the International Monetary Fund released in the middle of June however showed that Viet Nam had recently carried out proper policies to stabilise the macroeconomy and efficiently control public finance management," she said.

The Poverty Reduction Support Credit (PRSC) is the general budget support mechanism used by all donors in Viet Nam. Under the PRSC, the EU and other development partners have been working with the Government to improve the content of important policies, particularly in the area of health, education, gender and public finance management, to ensure timely adoption of these policies and to monitor their impact on broader development objectives.

Disbursement of 17 million euros ( around $24.6million) takes account of the clear progress in policy reform made by the Vietnamese authorities in key areas, such as the introduction of internal audit legislation to improve public financial management, the establishment of national standards and a unified licensing system for health care practitioners, providing guiding legislation for the domestic violence law, and introducing a legal framework on consumer protection.

The remaining 12 million euros is the single instalment of the Raising the living standards of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, an agreement signed between the EU and Vietnamese Government in October last year.

Emmanuel Mersch said in the years to 2013, the EU Delegation was planning an additional 150 million euros ($212m) grant support to poverty reduction and the health sector. "However such budget support will only be possible if public financial management modernisation is steadily pursued and a stable macroeconomic environment is maintained," he added.

Da Nang firm vanishes after win-a-car scam

Dai Phat company in Da Nang City has in the past month cheated hundreds off up to VND20 million (US$975) each by falsely informing them that they have won a car and must deposit a certain sum to secure the jackpot.
The victims said that they bought electrical and electronic items from some people who came to their houses and introduced themselves as marketing officers of Dai Phat.
These ‘marketers’ promised that if they bought some goods from Dai Phat they would have a chance to win a car under the company’s sales promotional program.
Some days after their purchase, someone claiming themselves as Dai Phat’s staff called them to inform they had won a car worth VND380-500 million ($18,500-$24,400).
The ‘winners’ were then asked to transfer VND10-20 million to a designated account as fee for car registration before getting it at the office of Dai Phat on the second floor of the SAVICO building at 66 Vo Van Tan Street, Thanh Khe District, Da Nang City.
But no prize was forthcoming and the ‘company’ in fact is not located inside SAVICO.

One of the last victims is N.H.Q. from District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, who transferred VND20 million to an account at Eximbank but is yet to lay hands on the VND380 million promised car.
Hundreds of people have called SAVICO from Ho Chi Minh City and other localities to ask how they could get the car from Dai Phat, said Le Dinh Tuan, head of maintenance at the SAVICO building.
But SAVICO confirmed that there was no company named Dai Phat located there, Tuan revealed.

Baby kidnappers back down on plan, get arrested

Vung Tau City’s police yesterday arrested two women who planned to kidnap 3-year-old Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ngan for a US$4,850 ransom but later backed down on their plan.

Bui Thi Tuyet Nhung, 21, who kidnapped Ngan on June 30, and Doan Thi Chi, 25, from the northern province of Quang Tri, who kept the baby after receiving her from Nhung, were arrested yesterday morning, said Lieutenant Colonel Le Thanh Tung, head of the Social Crime Investigation Police of Vung Tau City.

Nhung kidnapped Ngan, the daughter of her next-door neighbors Nguyen Thach and Le Thi Ngoc Nu, residents of Vung Tau City’s Rach Dua Ward, from her kindergarten, the baby later told the police.

According to Nu, Nhung called her for a ransom on the same day and after negotiations, asked for her VND100 million (US$4,850) for her daughter’s release.
Nhung first asked Nu to meet at a location in Tan Thanh District in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. When Nu showed up on June 1, Nhung called Nu to ask her to go to a milk cow farm in Long Thanh District in Dong Nai Province.
When Nu reached the farm, Nhung once again changed the location, asking Nu to come to the Vung Tau T-joint and several other places.
But Nhung never showed up.

At 8 pm on June 1, the owner of a café in Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai Province took Ngan to the local police office, explaining the baby had been left at his café by two women.

Ngan was immediately sent back to her family. Nhung and Chi later confessed to the Vung Tau police that they had left Ngan at the café.

Fishermen tow 7-ton whale ashore for burial

A 7-ton whale was found dead 60 nautical miles off south-central province of Ninh Thuan and was towed ashore for a ceremonious burial as per local traditions.

The burial was conducted the yesterday afternoon in Phan Rang-Thap Cham City in accordance with traditional rituals intended for the whale, which is considered to be friendly and a respected creature.

The whale’s body was found Friday morning by Tran Minh Vu, who was catching fish at sea.

Adhering to traditional practice, Vu stopped his fishing voyage and called on other local fishermen to join him in pulling the dead fish ashore.

By the evening the body had been taken to Hai Chu fishing village and preparations for the burial was carried out by locals.

The fish is 18 meters long and weighs about 7 tons, Vu said.

Traditionally, three years after the burial, the remains of the whale will be exhumed and then bought to the Whale Temple in the village for worship.

Fishermen in the south-central Vietnam believe that whales always give help and support to them at sea.

Son La plants more markers on Vietnam-Laos border

Northern Son La province has coordinated with Laos’ Hua Phan province to plant 12 border markers in the first half of the years, said the Son La Provincial People’s Committee.

As scheduled, the two provinces plan to erect around 50 markers this year.

Son La has, to date planted 51 out of the total 125 markers along the borderline with Hua Phan and Luang Prabang provinces of Laos.

7 houses swallowed by Saigon River

7 houses in Ho Chi Minh City's Binh Chanh district Friday night fell into Saigon River due to land erosion, causing many people to become homeless; however fortunately no human casualties were reported.

Four other houses are also facing possible collapses due to the widening cracks on their walls.

Around 100 pepople in that area have been affected by the landslides.

Tran Van Can, chairman of the commune’s People's Committee, said all the collapsed houses were located on an area that was scheduled to be cleared for a construction project.

He added local authorities had seen cracks in the walls of some of the houses one week before the accident and warned households along the river about the growing danger of collapses; however, local residents haven’t moved yet.

Local authorities have provided each affected household with VND3 million (US$150) while many benefactors also donated money to them.

Phu Yen environment head indicted for embezzlement

Phu Yen Province police yesterday indicted Nguyen Kim Phuc, 54, former director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment for alleged embezzlement from a Swedish-funded project.

They also prosecuted three other officials who are released on bail but banned from leaving their residence while facing suspension of their posts and Party memberships.

Phuc has been dismissed by the provincial People’s Committee and expelled from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) by the local Party Committee.

The defendants allegedly appropriated more than VND3.3 billion (US$161,000) from the Swedish-funded Strengthening Environmental Management and Land Administration (SEMLA) project, worth over VND13.5 billion ($660,000).

According to the provincial Police Department investigations, in 2007-2009 Phuc ordered his staff to make false payment documents to appropriate the project’s money.

The prosecution brings the number of defendants being indicted to 10 for their alleged misconducts related to the SEMLA project.

Six other people, three still detained in jail and three released on bail, had previously been indicted on March 24.

The detainees are Tran Thi Na, 43, former land coordinator and a member of the Management Board of the province’s key projects; Ha Thuong Truc, 52, former chief accountant for the SEMLA project; and Vo Van Dung, 33, former official of the provincial Natural Resources and Environment Department and former secretary for the project.

Of the three, Na was expelled from the CPV.

The three who were released on bail are Nguyen Van Mau, 48, former chief of the SEMLA Office; and Pham The Quoc, 38, and Luu Pham Ba Luan, 31, both former staff of the project.

Career consulting day held for street kids in HCM City

Representatives of about 10 vocational training schools gathered in HCM City's downtown area last Thursday to offer career consulting and recruit street children for their courses.

More than 30 young people with no stable employment were brought by some of their peers (acting in collaboration with NGOs who'd helped them earlier) to the meeting.

The meeting aimed to assess which career each youth was suited for, and to have them register for free courses.

The youth plied social workers with many questions relating to the courses and the support they would receive in taking them. Most of the street youth were keen on vocations like motorbike repairing and hair styling, as well as being part of the hospitality industry.

The keen interest of street youth in bettering their lives could also be seen in the number of questions they raised about getting jobs after finishing the courses, financial support available to open their own businesses, or the personal papers that they need to submit to the schools.

Several examples of street youth who had attended vocational training courses and gone on to become successful in life were cited at the meeting.

Nguyen Hong Phuc, who now works with N.A.M., an HIV prevention project, said he was a street kid when he enrolled in a course at the Hospitality School in HCM City. After passing the course, he was introduced to work at Equatorial Hotel and went on to attain a high position in the hotel's kitchen.

Nguyen Chi Thoai, who has been successful in many fields and is now a social worker with the Tuong Lai project that creates jobs for street youth, said he was also a street kid and former student of the hospitality school.

Many other vocational training schools, including the Thang Long Vocational Training School, KOTO (Know One Teach One) and others also introduced their courses at the meeting.

Tran Yen of KOTO said the school had been very successful in Ha Noi with many former street children getting good jobs in major hotels.

In HCM City, about 100 students have been enrolled but no one has finished the course yet.

Le Thi My Hien, head of the HCM City Open University's Centre for Applied Social Work, noted that career consulting events were usually organised for high school students, not street youth. She also said that more than 50 per cent of street youth in HCM City desiring to attend vocational training courses did not have personal papers.

Ta Vang Duc, principal of the city's Hospitality School, explained that young people without personal papers should be introduced by other organisations to attend its classes.

He said if enrolment procedures were made too easy (like admitting youth without personal papers or introductions), there would be an increase in the ranks of street children.

The event was organised by the HCM City Open University's Centre for Applied Social Work and Save the Children, an international NGO, under the sponsorship of United State Agency for International Development (USAID), and the US President's Emergency for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

CEO indicted for ordering whistleblower killed

Ngo Quang Truong, 50, former chairman and CEO of Hoang Hai Housing Investment and Trading JSC in Ho Chi Minh City, has been indicted for hiring gangsters to kill his deputy who threatened to expose his fraudulent business practices.

The victim was Dang Xuan Sy, stabbed to death on October 15, 2009.

Also indicted are 8 other defendants, Bui Quoc Huy and Tran Van Khoa from northern Vinh Phuc Province, Vu Van Luan from northern Hai Phong City, Ngo Chi Huan from the Mekong Delta’s Hau Giang Province, and Nguyen The Viet, who is still at large, said the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Procuracy.

Yesterday the prosecutors’ office transferred the case file of the nine defendants to the city People’s Court for trial.
According to the indictment from the agency, Sy and Truong jointly established Hoang Hai in Hoc Mon District in July 2000.
In 2006, Sy discovered many of Truong’s irregular practices, including making false compensation documents and selling land plots before completing site clearance and compensation procedures.
Sy later withdrew his stakes from the company and sent a note exposing Truong’s fraud to the city’s Department of Investment and Planning.
Truong contacted Luan, a gang member, in early September 2009 and discussed with him a scheme to intimidate Sy into retracting his accusations.

About one month before the murder, Luan and other men visited Sy at his house, threatening him with a knife and telling him to withdraw all his accusations against Truong but Sy did not yield to their threats.
Luan later hired five men, three of whom are Khoa, Huy and Huan, to stab Sy to death after he left a meeting at the Planning and Investment Department on the noon of October 15.

Sy collapsed after being stabbed three times by one of the men, who later fled the scene on motorbikes.

The 51-year-old man was rushed to hospital but could not survive the fatal injuries.
Police caught Huy the same day and three others later.

Following their confession, police arrested Truong on November 18, 2009.

Police raids deluxe bar, detains 148 drug suspects

At 1:30 am July 1, more than 100 Hanoi policemen conducted a raid on the Nutz Bar in the 5-star Sheraton Hotel in Hanoi’ Tay Ho District, detaining 148 people to test for drugs.
After a 3-hour search, the police found 45 compressed tablets suspected to be synthetic drugs and more than 4 packs of marijuana cigarettes.
The police escorted more than 148 people, including some of the bar staff, to the district police office to test for drug use, Major-General Nguyen Anh Tuan, head of the Drug Crime Investigation Police Department said.
The results showed 72 of them tested positive for drugs. Of these, the youngest is 19 and the oldest 40.
These individuals would be handed over to the local authorities in their residential areas, Tuan said.
The police are making further investigation and will track down to arrest those responsible for providing drugs to the bar, the official said.

Four years ago, Hanoi police arrested two people for selling synthetic drugs and Ketamine at the bar, he added.
Located at 11 Xuan Dieu Street, the Nutz Bar provides dance shows and other recreational activities to young people in Hanoi, attracting hundreds of them every night.
In mid-May, Hanoi police also raided a karaoke bar in the same district, detaining 36 young men and seizing 65 synthetic drug tablets and 10 bags of Ketamine.
Earlier, they had raided Tay Ho Night Club, seizing many synthetic drugs and marijuana tablets and detaining 60 people, half of them later showed positive results for drugs.

One killed, one injured in sugar plant blast

A massive explosion went off at Quang Ngai Sugar Join-stock Company early Friday morning, killing one employee and injured a driver’s assistant.

Just a few minutes prior to the accident, two tank trucks from Ho Chi Minh City-based Kim Ha Viet Company were receiving molasses from the Sugar Company.

While 20-year-old Nguyen Tan Cuong, Kim Ha Viet’s employee, together with a driver’s assistant, climbed up to the tank to examine, the tank unexpectedly exploded.

The blast immediately killed Cuong and seriously injured the assistant. It also broke down many glasses.

Relevant authorities have arrived on the scene to conduct investigations.

Taxi driver attacks police when signaled to stop

A taxi driver in Hanoi headed straight into a traffic policeman when he was signaled to stop last Thursday.

25-year-old sub-lieutenant Nguyen Tran Long had to jump onto the taxi hood to avoid being hit.

Around 3 pm at the Nguyen Trai – Khuat Duy Tien crossroads in Thanh Xuan Bac Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Long signaled a Thanh Cong taxi to stop when the driver violated the traffic law.
Instead of stopping, the driver speeded up and headed straight into the officer and continued to drive at a high speed through some streets, hitting some motorbikes on the way.

Many locals ran after the cab in an attempt to stop it.
When reaching Nguyen Xien Street, the driver suddenly stopped the cab, swirled back, hurling Long to the ground and drove away.

Long reported the case to the ward police, who then contacted the taxi company to identify the aggressive driver.

At 9:30 pm, the driver presented himself to the ward police.

The police is investigating the case and the driver’s name has yet to be revealed.

Inexperienced valet parking attendants cause accident

Two valet parking attendants who don’t have any driving accident caused an accident last night at the crossroads of Nguyen Van Dung – Tran Hung Dao in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 5 when they tried a customer’s car.

According to Nguoi Lao Dong, these men couldn’t control the speed and rammed into a house at No. 30 on Tran Hung Dao street before smashing into a high tension pole nearby.

Local residents fled in disarray while many drivers also ran away from their vehicles for safety.

The accident left the two attendants seriously injured and the car badly damaged.

Thanh, the car’s owner said the valet parking attendants had forced him to give them to try the car.

VNN/VNS/Tuoi Tre