VietNam Society: illegal

Showing posts with label illegal. Show all posts

Showing posts with label illegal. Show all posts

Monday, January 3, 2011

Authorites battle illegal tin miners in Central Highlands

Authorites battle illegal tin miners in Central Highlands Authorities in the Central Highland Province of Lam Dong destroyed an illegal underground tin mine on Wednesday.

The mine had been dug in the Da Nhim protected forest in Lac Duong District. Authorities discovered that the subterranean operation consisted of around 90 interconnected tunnels of varying sizes. The system has spread to a nearly 10-hectare area.

It took an official demolition team more than four hours to collapse the tunnel system and pull down all surrounding tents.

The miners had wired the tunnels with electricity and set up makeshift homes in the remote area, so it was hard to notice them.

According to local officials, illegal tin excavation has persisted in remote and rugged parts of the region for many years but the authorities have not divined an effective means to combat it.

Several months ago, the authorities used dynamites to collapse the tunnels but new ones cropped up soon afterwards.

Most of the excavators came from outside the province and it’s hard to keep track of them, the officials said.

“The situation is complicated,” said Pham Trieu, vice chairman of Lac Duong District. “The excavators are all operating here under several dealers and most of them are offenders from other localities."

“We’re determined this time… The excavators will be expelled and investigations will be launched into the dealers.”

Trieu said the area will be temporarily controlled by the police before being returned to the forest planters.

In related news, the amended Mineral Law was approved at the National Assembly session 17, which requires individuals or organizations to secure permission for mineral excavation through “public and transparent” bidding.

The bidding will raise money for the state budget and prevent corruption, deputies said at the meeting.

If the minerals are deemed economically strategic or they are located in areas with high environmental or national security importance, the bidding process will be eschewed and permission will have to be obtained directly from the the Prime Minister.

The new law, which will take effect next July, will allow individuals and organizations up to five permits apiece for conducting mineral surveys.

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Authorites battle illegal tin miners in Central Highlands

Authorites battle illegal tin miners in Central Highlands Authorities in the Central Highland Province of Lam Dong destroyed an illegal underground tin mine on Wednesday.

The mine had been dug in the Da Nhim protected forest in Lac Duong District. Authorities discovered that the subterranean operation consisted of around 90 interconnected tunnels of varying sizes. The system has spread to a nearly 10-hectare area.

It took an official demolition team more than four hours to collapse the tunnel system and pull down all surrounding tents.

The miners had wired the tunnels with electricity and set up makeshift homes in the remote area, so it was hard to notice them.

According to local officials, illegal tin excavation has persisted in remote and rugged parts of the region for many years but the authorities have not divined an effective means to combat it.

Several months ago, the authorities used dynamites to collapse the tunnels but new ones cropped up soon afterwards.

Most of the excavators came from outside the province and it’s hard to keep track of them, the officials said.

“The situation is complicated,” said Pham Trieu, vice chairman of Lac Duong District. “The excavators are all operating here under several dealers and most of them are offenders from other localities."

“We’re determined this time… The excavators will be expelled and investigations will be launched into the dealers.”

Trieu said the area will be temporarily controlled by the police before being returned to the forest planters.

In related news, the amended Mineral Law was approved at the National Assembly session 17, which requires individuals or organizations to secure permission for mineral excavation through “public and transparent” bidding.

The bidding will raise money for the state budget and prevent corruption, deputies said at the meeting.

If the minerals are deemed economically strategic or they are located in areas with high environmental or national security importance, the bidding process will be eschewed and permission will have to be obtained directly from the the Prime Minister.

The new law, which will take effect next July, will allow individuals and organizations up to five permits apiece for conducting mineral surveys.

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Sunday, December 12, 2010

HCM City gets tougher on illegal motorbike racing

Drivers who participate in illegal motorbike racing on city streets will be fined and possibly criminally prosecuted under new city regulations, according to the HCM City People's Committee.

Col Vo Van Nhuan, head of HCM City Traffic Police, said the police and relevant agencies would work with bike mechanics to put an end to the modification of engines that make them more powerful and dangerous.

The motorbikes also often have their brake systems removed and have loud horns and noisy exhaust pipes during the races.

Nhuan said police would keep records of the racing and encourage vendors at night to keep local police informed of any illegal races.

The city People's Committee chairman, Le Hoang Quan, has urged districts to be as vigilant as Binh Thanh district in breaking up gangs of illegal motorbike drivers who threaten public safety.

The Traffic Safety Committee has lauded Binh Thanh district's effort in stopping illegal racing, an activity that the city has had little success in curbing in recent years.

Binh Thanh district police, Hang Xanh Traffic police and other police units recently entrapped 550 illegal drivers by using cars to set up blocks at a main road and several alleys.

Drivers whose bikes were seized at the time will not receive their bikes back until they present a letter of intent from their family in which they promise that their children will not race illegally.

Police will also hold meetings in communities to speak publicly about the violators' activities, prior to returning their bikes. Nhuan said more vigilance by police units was required, but that other city agencies should co-operate to help stop the illegal activity.

Families should teach their children about traffic safety and a healthy lifestyle, he added./.

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Report finds illegal logging rampant in country

Illegal deforestation activities are widespread across the nation, says the latest report from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's General Forestry Department.

Since the beginning of this year, 2,463 illegal logging cases have been found nationwide. In actions taken in several cases, 44 forest rangers have been injured and four people killed, according to the report.

Local authorities should immediately act to educate and come up with necessary solutions to end the illegal exploitation, said Ha Cong Tuan, deputy head of the department.

He was speaking last week at the National Conference on Forestry Management and Protection in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai .

Tuan also called on the local authorities to bring illegal cases to court.

"In the long term, localities should properly use land and forest resources as mentioned in the socio-economic master plan," he said.

The situation of illegal forest exploitation was particularly bad in the northern provinces of Bac Kan , Lang Son and Thai Nguyen; the central provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Nam and Khanh Hoa; and the Central Highland province of Dak Lak , the conference heard./.

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HCM City gets tougher on illegal motorbike racing

HCM CITY — Drivers who participate in illegal motorbike racing on city streets will be fined and possibly criminally prosecuted under new city regulations, according to the HCM City People's Committee.

Col Vo Van Nhuan, head of HCM City Traffic Police, said the police and relevant agencies would work with bike mechanics to put an end to the modification of engines that make them more powerful and dangerous.

The motorbikes also often have their brake systems removed and have loud horns and noisy exhaust pipes during the races.

Nhuan said police would keep records of the racing and encourage vendors at night to keep local police informed of any illegal races.

The city People's Committee chairman, Le Hoang Quan, has urged districts to be as vigilant as Binh Thanh District in breaking up gangs of illegal motorbike drivers who threaten public safety.

The Traffic Safety Committee has lauded Binh Thanh District's effort in stopping illegal racing, an activity that the city has had little success in curbing in recent years.

Binh Thanh District police, Hang Xanh Traffic police and other police units recently entrapped 550 illegal drivers by using cars to set up blocks at a main road and several alleys.

Drivers whose bikes were seized at the time will not receive their bikes back until they present a letter of intent from their family in which they promise that their children will not race illegally.

Police will also hold meetings in communities to speak publicly about the violators' activities, prior to returning their bikes. Nhuan said more vigilance by police units was required, but that other city agencies should co-operate to help stop the illegal activity.

Families should teach their children about traffic safety and a healthy lifestyle, he added. —VNS

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Police seek help to curb motorbike racers

HCM CITY — Collaboration between police, civil security forces and families is a prerequisite for effectively dealing with illegal motorcycle racing, speakers said at several discussion forums in the city.

The discussions were organised by the HCM City Traffic Police in several districts, including Binh Thanh and District 8 on September 23 and 24, to collect ideas on measures to stop illegal racing among teenagers in the early hours of the morning.

The trend of illegal racing from past midnight to 5am has spread out among the districts since June, shortly after city police successfully clamped down on racing from 10pm to midnight by setting up barriers with reflective paint on several streets.

It was revealed in the discussions that the collaboration between different stakeholders had proved effective when civil security forces in wards noted teenagers who were sleeping at daytime and reported the information to the ward police.

Basing on the reports, policemen worked with families of the daytime sleepers to find solutions to prevent the teenagers from joining illegal racing.

At the same time, police also provided a list of suspected illegal racers to the civil security forces, to help identify the suspects or their families.

According to Sr. Lt. Col Vo Van Van of HCM City Traffic Police, the police has identified 2,583 teenagers and temporarily seized 2,495 motorbikes in 238 cases of illegal racing so far this year.

Lt. Col. Tran Van Cuong of District 8 Police Division said police should get commitments from motorbike repair shops to stop working with the illegal racers.

"Racers often have mechanics expand the cylinder capacity for more powerful engines or de-install the brake system," he said.

"Repair shops should be banned from operating in case they are discovered to be working with racers," said Sr. Lt. Col Le Van Doan of the District 10 Police Division.

Tan Binh District Police and the police team at District 6's Phu Lam Intersection recommended that police are equipped with cameras to film the racers to facilitate recognition and identification. They also called for more high-speed motorbikes to chase the racers.

Many participants said those who cheer the races should also be fined strictly.

Ton That Huynh Ai, chief doctor at the Cho Ray Hospital's emergency department, said they received around 50 cases of traffic accidents a day. Most hospitalisations involved accidents at high speed, and many of the victims either died or were crippled for life, he said.

Some racers caught by the police have said that they wanted to try racing just once for its excitement, while others have said they were persuaded to do so by friends. — VNS

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