HCM City grants $10.3 million unemployment benefits to residents 

The Ho Chi Minh Employment Agency has announced that it will spent VND205.7 billion (US$10.3 million) of unemployment benefits on the unemployed during 2011. 

There were 58,712 unemployed people registered for unemployment status in 2010, said the agency.

The agency also said that 4,900 people were granted unemployment allowance per month In particular, the number of unemployed persons in July is one of the highest, with over 7,000 more people registered.

Furthermore, it is estimated that nearly 1,486,000 laborers have received unemployment insurance in the city; and according to an analysis, the rate of unemployed women is 58.2 percent.

Catering plants pose health risks 

Hundreds of people are hospitalized each year due to food poisoning. This is after eating meals supplied by some catering enterprises. 

Health authorities on January 4 inspected the catering plant of Minh Trang in the district of Tan Binh, Ho Chi Minh City. Inspectors discovered that the catering facility had a number of heath issues concerning hygiene.

These included dirty floors, the cutting boards for meat placed to close to toilets, and dirty and unhygienic cooking containers.

In addition, the inspectors found that some food items expiry date had passed, and other food items have dubious origins. These were six packages of floor and soy sauce containers.

Furthermore, the inspectors also discovered the catering plant had kept the additives and spices maintained incorrectly; therefore, the inspectors ordered the plant to destroy expired flour and the inspectors took the spices for further testing.

In the area of Minh Tam in District 3, a caterer had dirty kitchens, which attracted many flies and other insects. Inspectors found at the premises, contaminated meat and red coloring spices, that failed to meet hygiene regulations. Therefore, they decided to close the business down and seized the unsafe food.

Health authorities admitted that they were unable to check all food catering facilities, because of a shortage of personnel. Therefore, new cases of food poisoning are being reported each day.

Huynh Le Thai Hoa, head of the municipal Health Department's Food Hygiene and Safety Division, said some caterers prepared their meals too close to drainages areas and the cooking equipment used is unhygienic.

Journalist handcuffed for allegedly assaulting cop

A Vietnam News Agency journalist was arrested and spent one night handcuffed to a window after he was arrested by local police while covering news in the Ca Mau southernmost province.

Le Huy Hai said he was detained for no reason on Tuesday and his journalist license, camera, cell phone were confiscated after he was caught photographing some policemen inspecting a guesthouse.

However, senior lieutenant colonel Tran Thanh Long, deputy head of the district police said the arrest stemmed from Hai‘s attack on one of their men.

Medical records show a small bruise on a policeman’s little finger.

According to Hai, after he refused to sign a report at the police station, four officers pushed him down and handcuffed him to a nearby window from 23:30 on Jan 4th to 3am the next morning.

One local resident witnessing the arrest said both sides were arguing.

“He only gave in to them [police] after they threatened to destroy his bike.”

Video shows man stealing laptop

A couple visited a store in the Bac Lieu southern province and stole a laptop worth nearly VND10 million (US$500) a month ago but, their whole thieving act was caught on camera.

Tran Hung Kiet, the owner of the store, told police the culprits caught on his security camera are 30 something year olds.

As shown in the clip, the woman kept asking the saleswoman about a loudspeaker, as a ploy to lure the staff away.

After the man pushed the laptop into his overcoat, the couple effortlessly went away.

Hanoi gift clock out of order

A US$20,000 flower clock presented to Hanoi by the Swiss capital Bern on the occasion of Hanoi’s 1,000th birthday anniversary has been out of order.

The clock was installed on the sidewalks near the Ho Guom (Sword Lake) by the Department of Construction.

Ha Van Que, director of the Hanoi Department of External Affairs, said the Switzerland Embassy had asked the department to put the clock into operation again.

Nguyen Thinh Thanh, chief of the municipal People’s Committee’s personnel office said the city was asking relevant authorities to fix the clock.

The 1.8 meter high clock is placed in the middle of an artificial tulip flower garden, and has attracted the attention of Hanoi people.

Reclaiming public properties drags on in city

Warehouse 681 on Binh Dong Quay in District 8, one of the public properties not yet taken backUsing public lands and houses wastefully or wrongly has remained a big problem in Ho Chi Minh City, despite orders from the local authorities to take back those properties.

The management and use of public land and houses in the city have not been improved in recent years, leading to a paradox in which the city lacks land for building schools, public parks, resettlement houses while many public properties have been used ineffectively, even left unused.

The situation is typically seen in District 8, where many residents have to live in slums, and students are stuffed in cramped classrooms, while dozens of land plots and houses have been used for wrong purposes.

Three years ago, the district’s People Committee found out 33 public properties either left vacant or used for wrong purposes. They were then put in the list of properties to be withdrawn for auction sale or building schools and resettlement areas.

However, until late last year, many of these properties were still being used, such as the premises at 306B Binh Dong Quay St., which measures 6,500 square meters and are managed by Petec Investment Technique Trade Company.

The reason was that five households have been living there but a compensation plan for them has yet to be available. Similarly, several warehouses located on this street have still been in use so far.

The same situation was seen in some other districts, including Districts 1 and 11, where some land plots have yet to be taken back due to impediments related to site clearance and compensation.

By far, of the total 207 public lands and houses subject to recovery, only 142 properties with a total area of 324.000 square meters have been reclaimed, according to a steering board regarding the recovery of public properties being used ineffectively or for wrong purposes.

Many land and houses of high economic value managed by the HCM City Housing Management and Trading One-Member Limited Liability Company have been put to lease but many violations of lease agreements have been found, including using the leased properties not in accordance with the agreement, re-leasing the leased properties, and delaying rental payments.

Deputy chairman of the City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai has asked agencies concerned to publicly announce the list of such violators and decisively take back their properties.

At a recent meeting between the city authorities and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on inspecting the compliance with the Law on Land, the two sides agreed to speed up the withdrawal of properties used ineffectively and the collection of rental arrears.

In recent Directive 2407/CT-TTg, the Prime Minister ordered the Finance Ministry to coordinate with People’s Committees of provinces and cities to consider plans on rearranging the use of public properties.

Flat tire delays Vietnam Airlines flight

A Vietnam Airlines aircraft bound from Phu Quoc to Ho Chi Minh City was delayed Monday after one of its tires suffered a blowout.

The ATR 72 was all set to take off from Phu Quoc Airport when technical officials discovered the flat.

It was held up until a spare tire could be brought by another Vietnam Airlines plane from HCMC.

When the tire arrived, there was more drama. The 68 passengers on board were worried to see dozens of workers, technicians, and supervisors scurrying around in a “confused” manner.

Some passengers observed them through binoculars and one of them told newswire Dan Tri: “It seemed they were reading instructions for changing tires.”

The plane took off after one and a half hours.

Thief caught as he returns to wipe fingerprints

A Ho Chi Minh City man who returned to an ATM booth to wipe fingerprints he had left while stealing a camera there earlier was apprehended by security officials and handed over to the police.

Vu Viet Hung, 34, of Phu Nhuan District was caught Tuesday at a Sacombank ATM on Cong Hoa Street in Tan Binh District.

He later told the police he had worn a mask and used a wire cutter to steal two security cameras from an ATM booth belonging to the Vietnam Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) on Ba Thang Hai Street.

Realizing how easy it was, he used the same method to steal the Sacombank camera Tuesday.

But on returning home, he remembered he had touched another camera at the ATM with his bare fingers and returned to wipe them clean when he got caught.

It had been his first theft, he claimed, and he had planned to install the cameras in his house.

Each camera costs around VND9 million (US$450), according to Vietinbank.

Viet student beaten in Aus can open his eyes after coma

The Vietnamese student who was brutally beaten in Australia’s crowded areas in Melbourne is now able to open his eyes after 10 days in deep coma.

“He becomes little better. His cardiovascular system is stable but his brain needs to be watched over closely,” said doctors of 19-year-old Vu Ngoc Minh.

The student of the Deakin University is having a breathing tube planted inside his body from his neck to the lungs and food transmitted to his stomach through a drip feed.

Earlier, he had the tube planted from the mouth.

The inflammation of his noses and eyes are becoming less severe, doctors added.

But Dr. Patrick Dang said it would take a long time to treat his brain injury.

His mother and father Tran Thanh Ha and Vu Anh Tuan visit him everyday at the Melbourne hospital during the past days.

Nothing can be said right now, said his father last Saturday.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese students Association in Melbourne and student forums have voiced their support for Minh.

“Minh has a good sense of humor, enthusiastic, and easy-going,” they said.

Minh often participates in the arts, sports activities and has never been engaged in attacks since setting foot in Australia in September, 2009, they wrote on the forum of DEVISE – the Vietnamese Overseas Student Association at the Deakin University.

Up to January 4, AUD2,000 (US$2,000) has been transferred to DEVISE to offer assistance to Minh and his family.

A petition letter titled “We love Australia, but we need to be protected” launched by overseas students in Australia at (http://www.petitiononline.com/safetyoz/petition.html) has been just sent to the Australian government.

Minh and another friend - Le Thanh Tung were chased by a group of Australians at a corner of Bourke and Swanton crossroad in Melbourne.

When Minh and Tung ran in two separate ways, the group also separated into two to chase after them.

Tung was surrounded by 7-8 boys, with one of them using a knife to attack him but he escaped the stab. After failing to beat him, the group went away.

When Tung caught up with Minh, he saw the latter lying in a pool of blood.

Police are investigating.

Smugglers attack Hanoi cops, snatch back goods

In a scene straight out of a cowboy film, hundreds of smugglers surrounded a train on which the Hanoi police had found and seized contraband, and attacked officers with stones and snatched back the goods.

On Thursday evening, the police boarded the train at Gia Lam Station and found hundreds of packages of clothes, footwear, wallets, waistbands, and other smuggled goods arriving from Lang Son Province on the northern border.

Worth billions of dongs, they were packed in sacks and placed on passengers’ seats and in cargo coaches.

But soon a pitched battle began between the police and the henchmen of the smugglers who had apparently summoned them.

The officers used only batons and shields and not guns while the thugs threw stones from the tracks and managed to storm the train in just 20 minutes.

They made away with dozens of sacks.

The police said they will look into the origin of the smuggled goods and who was behind it.

Two arrested for selling fake Viagra

Hanoi police have arrested two people of an alleged counterfeit pharmaceuticals smuggling ring that sells fake Viagra.

On Wednesday the police arrested Hoang Thi Hong, 27, of Tay Ho District while she was transporting 205 packets of Viagra on her motorbike.

Hong claiming to be a pharmaceutical representative told police she bought the fake Viagra from a man at the price of VND20,000 (US$1) per 4-tablet packet and sold them to drug stores.

She had successfully sold 65 packs of fake Viagra before.

Based on her testimony, police arrested Nguyen Ba Hai, the supplier of fake Viagra to Hong, while he himself was transporting 30 packs of Viagra.

When police searched Hong and Hai’s residences, they seized an additional 240 packs.

Hai told police he bought the drugs from a Chinese man at the price of VND16,000 per packet.

Police are investigating.

Cruel nanny jailed for abusing 3-year-old girl

A baby-sitter was sentenced Friday to two years in jail for cruelty towards a three-year-old girl under her care who was grabbed hard by the hair, had water splashed and was cruelly stamped down on.

The court in the southern province of Binh Duong also ordered Tran Thi Phung, 52, of Thuan An District to pay a VND5 million fine to the family of Ho Thi Thuy Ngan.

In November, a neighbor posted a video clip on YouTube showing Phung engaging in brutal acts against Ngan while bathing her including hair tugging and water splashing.

She also stamps down on the girl who is on the concrete floor, purportedly to give her a rub, and constantly yells at her.

The neighbor captured the acts in his mobile phone.

Phung was taking care of six children in a small damp room at the time.

Neighbors said Phung has been reprimanded more than once by the local women’s union for beating up children.

She told the police she has been running the nursery for more than seven years.

“I was a little harsh with the girl because she did not listen to me. I admit my actions were wrong,” she told them.

Ho Minh Luc, the child’s father, said: “My wife and I were hurt when we were told about the beating, because Phung has been taking care of our daughter for two years.”

Nguyen Van Trung, chairman of the Thuan Giao Commune People’s Committee, said the police should investigate and punish the inhumane acts, especially by those who babysit children without registering with authorities.

Mai Thi Phuong, chairwoman of the commune Women’s Union, told Tuoi Tre there are some 20 illegal nurseries in the commune.

“It is hard to control [them] due to the huge demand from more than 80,000 migrant workers,” she said.

Phung opens at 5 am daily and remains open until late depending on parents’ shifts, and demands VND350,000 (US$17) per child per month.

Brutalized elephant dies in Dak Lak resort

The stabs on the elephant’s bodyA tame elephant that had been stabbed dozens of times by poachers looking to steal its tusks two months ago died Thursday at a resort in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

The male elephant, Pak Cu, which was owned by the Ban Don Tourism Area in Buon Don District, had been attacked on October 17.

Its tail was nearly cut off and the bones in his hind legs were exposed after the brutal attack.

Le Thi Thanh Ha, the resort’s director, said the animal could not make it despite the best treatment.

It had used to carry tourists on its back.

PV