Three arrested on suspicion of human trafficking

Police in the northern province of Lai Chau said they are investigating three people suspeted of attempting to smuggle a 13-year-old girl into China.

Police announced on Thursday, that hey had found that Hoang Thi Loan, 43, who has been previously convicted for human trafficking, returned to Cap Na Village from China on November 5.

She then met with Luong Thi Than, also 43, and asked the woman once convicted of drug trafficking to seek out some local girls so that she could sell them to China.

Most local girls had left the village to work, police said, so Than targeted Luong Thi Thai, who suffers from mental disorders.

Loan agreed to pay Than VND15 million (US$769.42) for the transaction, police said.

Than’s daughters, 16-year-old Lo Thi Ngoc and 15-year-old Lo Hoa Ut, also joined it, they added.

On November 7, Than hired a xe om for Ngoc and Ut to bring Thai to the adjacent Lao Cai, telling the girl’s family that she would be given a job washing dishes and cleaning homes there, according to police.

Loan was arrested while transporting Thai to China.

Lai Chau police said they are currently keeping Loan, Than and Ngoc in custody for their investigation. Ut, meanwhile, has been handed over to local authorities because she is still under age.

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HCMC seeks to end to upstream dams

Ho Chi Minh City has asked the central government to stop the construction of 20 hydropower plants along the Dong Nai River.

Nguyen Van Lai, Director of the HCMC Industry and Trade Department, said recent water discharges from hydropower plants in the central region have caused serious consequences.

The construction of these plants was not well-planned, Lai claimed.

If 20 new plants are built along the Dong Nai River without careful consideration, downstream areas like HCMC and the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau will be affected, he said.

Lai said a “considerable” area of forest will have to be destroyed to provide land for the projects, which will ultimately reduce the water level of the Dong Nai River.

Nguyen Van Nga, an official at the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said that, since last year, both the water level and the water quality of the river have declined.

Building more power plants along the river will damage its eco-system, causing the river banks to quickly erode, he said. This will worsen the flooding problem in downstream areas.

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HCMC seeks to end to upstream dams

Ho Chi Minh City has asked the central government to stop the construction of 20 hydropower plants along the Dong Nai River.

Nguyen Van Lai, Director of the HCMC Industry and Trade Department, said recent water discharges from hydropower plants in the central region have caused serious consequences.

The construction of these plants was not well-planned, Lai claimed.

If 20 new plants are built along the Dong Nai River without careful consideration, downstream areas like HCMC and the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau will be affected, he said.

Lai said a “considerable” area of forest will have to be destroyed to provide land for the projects, which will ultimately reduce the water level of the Dong Nai River.

Nguyen Van Nga, an official at the HCMC Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said that, since last year, both the water level and the water quality of the river have declined.

Building more power plants along the river will damage its eco-system, causing the river banks to quickly erode, he said. This will worsen the flooding problem in downstream areas.

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No graveyard in our backyard: public tells detained official

Thousands of people in Hanoi on Friday detained a local official to protest the establishment of a graveyard in their locality.

The incident took place at around 8 a.m. when Vuong Van But, deputy chief of secretary of Soc Son District’s Communist Party, and several officials came to meet with authorities of Minh Phu Commune to discuss the construction of the Thien Duong graveyard.

Many locals gathered at the place and dragged But and a few other officials into two rooms of the headquarters of the Minh Phu People’s Committee.

They asked But to sign a report on an altercation between police officers and children that had left four of the children injured, the Phap Luat TPHCM (Ho Chi Minh City Law) newspaper quoted local people as saying.

Locals also asked But to stop construction of the graveyard in the commune, saying that it would critically affect local water sources.

As of 10 p.m., But was still detained, while other officials were released when they showed signs of exhaustion.

Police forces, meanwhile, were mobilized to the site to deal with thousands of people who'd surrounded the headquarters.

A Soc Son police official told Thanh Nien that the two parties held peaceful talks. The detained official promised to report local people’s opinions and concerns to Hanoi authorities.

The Thien Duong graveyard project was approved by Hanoi’s People’s Committee in January.

It is planned cover 100 hectares and apply burial methods causing no effects to the environment, according to investor Hoa Sen Investment Joint-stock Company.

The project's first stage, with the investment of some VND300 billion (US$15.4 million), was expected to be completed in the third quarter of next year.

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Teachers under attack: One stabbed, another caned

A high school teacher in the south central province of Binh Thuan was stabbed by a 16-year-old on Sunday.

Truong Minh Phat was stabbed with a pair of scissors by a boy in the schoolyard, the school principle told VietNamNet. The boy was not an old student at Phat’s school.

The principal said there were around 114 teachers, officials and other employees of the school in the schoolyard, preparing for the Teacher’s Day celebration on Saturday, November 20.

Police have arrested the boy and are investigating the incident.

Meanwhile in Hanoi, the principal of Le Quy Don High School Nguyen Sy Khiem was attacked by a group of young men wielding canes and tear gas Saturday morning.

The men splashed paint on Khiem's face after he collapsed.

Police said the men also attacked several eyewitnesses who tried to stop the assault.

Khiem’s son told VnExpress that several young men had been watching their home recently.

“My father used to receive threat phone calls at night,” the son said.

Hanoi police are investigating the matter.

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Teachers under attack: One stabbed, another caned

A high school teacher in the south central province of Binh Thuan was stabbed by a 16-year-old on Sunday.

Truong Minh Phat was stabbed with a pair of scissors by a boy in the schoolyard, the school principle told VietNamNet. The boy was not an old student at Phat’s school.

The principal said there were around 114 teachers, officials and other employees of the school in the schoolyard, preparing for the Teacher’s Day celebration on Saturday, November 20.

Police have arrested the boy and are investigating the incident.

Meanwhile in Hanoi, the principal of Le Quy Don High School Nguyen Sy Khiem was attacked by a group of young men wielding canes and tear gas Saturday morning.

The men splashed paint on Khiem's face after he collapsed.

Police said the men also attacked several eyewitnesses who tried to stop the assault.

Khiem’s son told VnExpress that several young men had been watching their home recently.

“My father used to receive threat phone calls at night,” the son said.

Hanoi police are investigating the matter.

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Upcoming events

* November 19 (Friday): The British Business Group of Vietnam (BBGV) will host a seminar titled, “British business, British charity, Partnering for the future” from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Deck, 38 Nguyen U Di Street, An Phu Ward, District 2, HCMC. Free admission. Contact Jakki Lydall on officeadmin@bbgv.org or phone (08) 3 829 8430 to confirm your attendance.

* November 20 (Saturday): A charity concert by the Hanoi International String Quartet with guest pianist Philippe Rigot will start at 8 p.m. at the French Cultural Center, or L’Espace, 24 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi. The musicians from Vietnam, Canada, France and the UK will perform masterpieces by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. Tickets are VND100,000 (VND50,000 for students) and can be reserved by e-mail to bbgvhanoi@bbgv.org or by calling (04) 6 674 0945. Proceeds will go to support vocational training of disadvantaged youth through the KOTO Trainee Program.

* November 23-24 (Tuesday-Wednesday): The Economic and Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy will hold “Spain -Vietnam Business Investment and Cooperation Forum” in HCMC. Representatives from 24 Spanish firms specializing in various sectors like agriculture, energy and construction, footwear and shoe components, textile, water treatment and metallurgy will hold one-to-one meetings with their Vietnamese counterparts. For further information, contact Ms. Hanh / Mr. Eduardo Rejón - Spanish Economic and Commercial Office in HCMC at (08) 3 825 0173 or email forovietnam@comercio.mityc.es.

* November 24 (Wednesday): EuroCham Seminar - Update on Vietnam Retail and Consumer Trends 2011 will be held from 8:15 a. m. to 1 p.m. at Sofitel Saigon Plaza, Diamond Hall, 17 Le Duan Boulevard, HCMC.

Fee: VND800,000 for members and co-hosts and VND1,200,000 for non-members. For further queries or registration, contact Ms. Thuy via events-hcmc@eurochamvn.org or phone (08) 3 827 2715.

* November 25 (Thursday): 11^th AmCham Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Dinner will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the New World Hotel Saigon, 76 Le Lai Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Fee: US$60 each for members and members’ guests, $20 for children aged 6-12 and $5 for kids under 6.

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