Customs officers nab drug smuggler

Tan Son Nhat Customs Branch said on Tuesday that 6kg of powder found in the luggage of a passenger on a HCM City-Sydney flight on March 31 consisted of 1.9kg of heroin and 4kg of phenmetrazine and ephedrine.

A Vietnamese national was seized when checking in. The drugs allegedly were packed in small bags hidden in luggage.

The passenger, who has not yet been named, was reportedly connected to a drug trafficking ring run by Vietnamese in Australia.

37 killed and injured in car accident

Two were killed, 25 seriously injured and 10 others lightly injured when a van hit a passenger car on Highway 1A at 2.20am on April 5.

Two were killed, 25 seriously injured and 10 others lightly injured. (Photo: VNN)

The two dead were identified as Thai and Quang, both helpers of the driver.

Twenty-five injured passengers have been brought to Ninh Thuan Hospital for emergency treatment.

The accident is still under investigation.

Hanoi youths hold up catchy road safety slogans

More than 100 students who are members of a soft-skill training center Monday carried colorful signs with self-created rhyming one-liners to promote traffic safety at around 30 crossroads in Hanoi.

Standing in the pavement or near a traffic light at crossroads like O Cho Dua, Thai Ha- Lang Ha, Khuat Duy Tien, Giai Phong, Le Van Luong, where a lot of vehicles passed by, these young people smiled and put the signs up high for everyone to see.

The phrases read Ha Noi khong voi duoc dau (Do not rush in Hanoi), Di thong tha cho do vat va (Ride slowly to avoid hassle), Dung lan thay that an nhan (Riding in right lane, a leisure), Dung den do chung to thong minh (Stopping at the red light is smart).

Some drivers stopping at the red light turned back to look at the signs and nodded approval.

Khanh Linh, an 11th grader at Nhan Chinh high school, said they wanted to use modern teen language to make catchy phrases so that people can remember easily.

Although the activity took place for only one day, the group expected drivers to remember the message, thus their awareness on traffic safety could be raised.

Three die, six injured in lorry crash

Three people died and six others were injured when a truck collided with a seven-seater car, two four-wheel self-modified vehicles and two motorbikes in Central Highland Dak Lak Province's Buon Ho Township yesterday morning, April 4.

The truck driver, who escaped after the accident, is believed to have lost control while driving down a slope.

The truck finished upside down, while the other vehicles were destroyed.

The injured were taken to local hospitals.

Taxi driver suspended for stealing from foreigner

A taxi driver of Ho Chi Minh City-based Saigon Hoang Long Taxi Company, Nguyen Hoang Hai, has been suspended for overcharging a Japanese woman and then stealing all her luggage.

The victim was Ono Ayumi, 27, who reported to the company that she left Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City at midnight on March 29 and took a Saigon Hoang Long taxi to De Tham Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1.

Ayumi said that when the cab reached the destination, the taxi meter showed the charge to be VND252,000 (US$12), but when she gave the taxi driver a VND500,000 banknote, the driver raised three fingers, meaning that he needed three VND500,000 banknotes, thus he charged her VND1.5 million ($72).

After Ayumi gave the driver two more VND500,000 banknotes, he drove her to an ATM station nearby, and as soon as she left the taxi, Hai drove away along with the luggage that she had left in the car.

After receiving Ayumi’s report, the company management identified the driver as Hai, but he did not admit that he had stolen the passenger’s luggage.

The Japanese woman then reported the loss to the police of Pham Ngu Lao Ward and the airport’s security center for help.

It was not until the center, after checking the cameras installed outside the terminal, confirmed that Ayumi had brought two bags with her when she got into the taxi that Hai pleaded guilty of stealing.

Le Huy Cuong, deputy general director of Saigon Hoang Long, which is located on An Duong Vuong Street, District 5, told Tuoi Tre that Hai had repaid Ayumi for the excessive charge and a part of the luggage.

The company has negotiated with the passenger on damage of VND3 million ($144) for the remaining luggage, including clothing and cosmetics, which Hai said he “could not recover”, Cuong said.

The Pham Ngu Lao Ward police are continuing with their investigation to determine a charge for Hai’s offense.

Nine fishermen saved after collision

Nine fishermen were rescued after their boat was hit by an unknown vessel in the territorial water off central Binh Thuan Province's Phan Thiet Town on Tuesday.

They were taken to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province last night.

After receiving a SOS signal from the distressed fishing vessel, the Coastal Radio system called aid for the distressed vessel.

One Panamanian vessel arrived and took the fishermen on board. It later transferred them to a Vietnamese vessel.

Swindling “diamond billionaire” gets life sentence

After a five-day trial, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court yesterday handed down a life sentence to Nguyen Thi Hoang Hoa, a 42-year-old local businesswoman, on charges of swindling more than VND113 billion (US$5.46 million) from her creditors.

According to the indictment, Hoa, who was dubbed the “diamond billionaire” by many other businesspeople, mobilized a huge amount of money from numerous people and then suddenly fled, leaving many of her creditors bankrupt.

Hoa, who lived in the city’s District 10, handed herself in to police in mid-2010, confessing that the total debt she failed to pay amounted to more than VND300 billion ($14.5 million).

Of the amount, VND131 billion came from her swindles of seven people from June 2009 to April 2010, and the rest was normal debt in her regular credit relations with others.

To gain trust from her lenders, she initially paid loan principals and interest to them on schedule, but she later failed to continue doing so.

She usually offered an interest rate of 4 percent per month to her creditors, but in some special cases she could pay much higher, at a rate of 18 percent.

She boasted to her victims that she was a big trader of diamonds, often distributing the precious stone to many jewelry traders in An Dong and Ben Thanh markets in HCMC.

She also lied that she wanted to mobilize capital to invest in making footwear for export, or in other large business affairs.

By mid 2009, Hoa had fallen into insolvency but continued mobilizing money until she fled.

Considering that Hoa has caused serious consequences for her victims, the court gave her the highest penalty for the charge of appropriating assets under the Criminal Code.

The court also ordered Hoa to repay her lenders all the money she had appropriated from them.

Private hospital opens in HCM City

A private 200-bed hospital with modern equipment was officially opened in HCM City's Phu Nhuan District last Saturday.

Located on nearly 2,200sq.m on Phan Xich Long Street, Hoan My Sai Gon Hospital Premier has 42 consulting rooms and eight operating rooms that can receive 2,000 patients per day.

The Hoan My Health Care Group invested nearly VND700 billion (US$33.5 million) in the hospital, which specialises in services such as open-heart surgery, joint replacement, laparoscopic surgery and neuro-spinal surgery as well as lithotripsy (treatment of kidney stones).

Five-year programme supports children with HIV/AIDS

Children with HIV/AIDS will receive better care and support thanks to a five-year (2011-2015) programme, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

Nguyen Trong An, deputy head of MoLISA’s Department of Child Care and Protection, said that under the U$$10 million programme, all HIV-positive children will receive support in health care, education and other social services.

The country has around 1,400 newborns facing risk of contracting HIV each year. The number of children under 15 years old living with HIV is forecast to reach 5,700 later this year.  

Airport detects 5.9 kg of drugs in passenger suitcase

Customs officers at Tan Son Nhat Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, detected and seized 5.9 kg of drugs hidden in a sophisticated way in a suitcase by a Vietnamese person who was about to fly to Australia last Saturday.

The drug carrier, who has only been identified as H.T., has been taken into custody for investigation.

The drugs were found while T. was carrying out procedures to board VN773 flight from HCMC to Sydney on the night of March 31.

Of the drugs, 1.9 kg was packed in nine small bags that were covered by wrappings containing chili powder to avoid being discovered by police dogs. These wrappings were put inside silver films to avoid being detected by a drug detector.

This portion of the drugs was found fixed on the inside wall of the suitcase.

Meanwhile, the remaining 4 kg of drugs was hidden in two engraved candle stands that were finely coated with a plating layer to avoid detection by the scanning system.

After the discovery, airport security sent samples of the drugs to the Forensic Science Sub-Institute in HCMC for testing, and the agency later confirmed that the samples were drugs.

A source told Tuoi Tre that the carrier of the drugs belonged to a large transnational drug trafficking ring.

The police are expanding their investigation to track down the ring.

Vietnamese coast guards rescue 11 fishermen

A ship of Vietnamese coast guard force has successfully towed a fishing boat with 11 fishermen on board to the safe place.

It has taken the CSB 9002 marine police vessel 55 hours to bring the QNg 90046 fishing boat to its headquarter of Coast Guard Region No.2 in central Quang Nam province.

The crewmembers of the ship coming from the central Quang Ngai Province have been closely taken care by health workers.

Earlier, on Saturday afternoon, the Coast Guard Region No.2 headquarter got the call of the Vietnam Marine Police Department on the preparation of forces and means for a search and rescue mission of two fishing boats, QNg 90046 and QNg 90252.

The engines of the two boats broke down when they were located 100 nautical miles to the northeast of the island of Phu Lam in Hoang Sa archipelago of Vietnam) last Monday.

The CSB 9002 vessel of the marine police force quickly departed at 12pm the same day.

After the 45-hour sea journey in stormy condition, the ship made contact with the QNg 90046 early Monday morning and reached the boat a nearly 350 nautical miles to the northeast of Quang Nam coast.

Although no one was hurt, the health of the crewmembers was weak and they are in a state of panic due to several days of struggling on the sea.

After approaching, the ship was quickly supplied with fresh water, food, and medicine. The coast guards then deployed professional measures to ensure safety for the boat in distress.

Immediately after the ship docked, police leaders at the HQ have arranged a warm welcome for the fishermen. Many relatives of the victims have traveled nearly 100km to the military port.

OV in US support Truong Sa islanders

Vietnamese nationals living and working in the US capital city of Washington DC have raised nearly US$8,000 to support the soldiers and people living on the Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

At the presentation ceremony on April 2, the audience was moved while watching a video clip featuring the daily lives of the Truong Sa islanders and the sacrifices they were making to safeguard the country’s territorial waters.

Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong, who hosted the fundraising ceremony, said he understood that the Vietnamese community in the US had a special interest in the nation’s sea and island sovereignty and territorial waters.

Another fund-raising event to raise funds for street children and children who suffer from heart disease was also held after the presentation, attended by actor Chi Bao and Miss Vietnam Nguyen Thi Huyen among others.

Earlier the same day, the Vietnam Embassy in the US held a meeting with the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese in the US.

Ambassador Cuong underlined the opportunities and challenges for overseas companies who are keen to invest in Vietnam , and gave a briefing on the innovative work that the Vietnamese government has carried out in the state-owned sector and banking system.

He also answered questions from Vietnamese and US businesses mainly related to investment.

VNN/VOV/VNS/Tuoi Tre