Villagers beat up man demanding protection money for harvester

Le Hoang• May 30, 2018 06:15

Angry because a group of brazen young men forced a harvester owner to pay 'protection' money, people in Thanh Hoa surrounded and beat him up, arrested him and handed him over to the police.

On May 29, Quang Xuong District Police (Thanh Hoa) continued to detain suspect Bui Sy Luong (20 years old) to investigate the acts of extortion and intentional injury.

Villagers tied up the extortionist in the rice field.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Cuong - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Truong Commune (Quang Xuong District) said that at around 4:00 p.m. on May 28, Luong and 5 young men rode 2 motorbikes and brought many weapons to the fields in the commune with the intention of collecting "protection" money for harvesters.

This group demanded that the harvester owners pay 5 million VND or a fee of 15,000 - 20,000 VND/sao of rice before they could operate. Otherwise, they would send people to disrupt and prevent them.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Tan did not have money to pay so he was attacked by Luong and his accomplices. Witnessing the beating of Mr. Tan, many farmers from Quang Truong and Quang Ngoc communes who were cutting rice in the fields gathered together to capture the group of unruly young men. Luong was restrained, the others quickly escaped, leaving behind 2 motorbikes.

In a fit of rage, the people tied up Luong’s hands and beat him up. The Quang Truong Commune Police then arrived and escorted him to the police station. At 8:00 p.m. the same day, after receiving first aid at the infirmary, Luong was handed over to the district police for handling.

Luong was surrounded and arrested by villagers after he and his accomplices assaulted the harvester owner. Photo:QT

According to the leader of Quang Truong commune, these unruly young men from other places came here and for about a week they have been causing trouble and making the people here afraid.

This is not the first time that harvester protection has occurred in Quang Xuong. In previous years, the district police have prosecuted and arrested several gangs of thugs who engaged in similar activities.