Police search for man who threatened female journalist to 'buy coffin now'
Hanoi police have received a petition from journalist Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, reporter for Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper.
Speaking with VietNamNet today, Mr. Duong Van Giap, Head of the Criminal Police Department (PC 45), Hanoi Police, said that they are investigating and searching for the person who called to threaten the journalist.
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| Journalist Nguyen Thi Thu Trang. Photo: Viet Dung/Tuoi Tre |
Calling the man's number again, he continued to threaten: "Go buy a coffin right away. One for each person. Buy as many as there are people in your family." Journalist Nguyen Thi Thu Trang said: At about 9:59 p.m. on April 7, she received a threatening phone call. The man's voice growled on the phone, telling her to go buy coffins for her family members because she had affected their livelihood.
According to journalist Thu Trang, in March 2016, she was assigned by the editorial board to investigate illegal brick kilns in Soc Son district. A series of investigative articles exposed the reality of many brick kilns operating illegally, evading taxes, and being ignored by those in charge.
Ms. Trang's series of investigative articles exposed many subjects who committed acts of corruption, falsified power application documents, and set up transformer stations that were not in accordance with planning for personal gain.
Specifically, when infiltrating the reality, Ms. Trang was offered a "protection" price of 250 million VND by Mr. Dinh Hoang Minh, Construction Inspector, Hanoi Department of Construction.
Mr. Minh asked the reporter to prepare 10 million VND to “introduce” Mr. Vuong Tien Trung, Deputy Chief Inspector of Construction of Hanoi City. Mr. Trung then promised to help the reporter build an illegal brick kiln in Soc Son district.
After the above series of articles, the Hanoi People's Committee stepped in to inspect and handle violations, and many illegally operating brick kilns were closed and asked to self-demolish. Many individuals found guilty of violations were suspended from work and fired.
Ms. Trang is known as a reporter who specializes in writing investigative articles and has exposed many negative cases. She said that her daughter currently has to limit her movements to avoid danger.
Speaking with VietNamNet, lawyer Tran Dinh Trien, from the office of Lawyers for the People, said that the behavior of the man who called Ms. Thu Trang showed signs of constituting the crime of Threatening to kill, according to Article 103 of the Penal Code.
Article 103 of the Penal Code 1. A person who threatens to kill someone, if there is reason to make the threatened person fear that the threat will be carried out, shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 2 years or imprisonment from 3 months to 3 years. 2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 2 to 7 years: a) For many people; b) For a person performing official duties or for the victim's official duties; c) For children; d) To conceal or evade prosecution for another crime. |
According to Vietnamnet.vn
