Investigation into the case of rice fields filled with iron spikes by bad guys in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - After a long lawsuit, an old farmer in Thanh Chuong district was ordered by the court to return the rice field that he said he had lent to his neighbors more than 20 years ago. However, when he received the field back, he was shocked to discover that it was full of iron spikes.
One said he lent it, the other said he bought it.
On September 7, Mr. Dang Huu Hanh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hanh Lam Commune (Thanh Chuong District) said that the police are still investigating the case of a series of iron spikes planted in the fields of local people. "Immediately after receiving the report, the leaders of the District People's Committee assigned the District Police to investigate. Currently, the investigation is still in progress and there are no results yet," Mr. Hanh said.
Meanwhile, for many months now, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Sy (75 years old, Hanh Lam commune) has not been able to cultivate his field after a long journey to reclaim it. Thanh Chuong District People's Court has declared the field belongs to Mr. Sy, but when his family came to claim it, they were shocked to discover that the field was full of sharp spikes.
According to Mr. Sy, in 1994, his family was granted 4 plots of rice fields in Van Dinh field by the State with a total area of nearly 1,700m2.2and was granted a Land Use Rights Certificate in 1997. In 2001, Mr. Sy brought his family to the mountainous area of Hanh Lam commune to do new economic activities. Therefore, Mr. Sy lent 2 sao of land to the family of two neighbors, Mr. Le Dinh Khang and Mrs. Mai Thi Luong 1 sao of rice field for production. For each sao of land borrowed, these people paid Mr. Sy 30,000 VND, the loan term was 10 years. The loan was only agreed upon verbally, without any supporting documents. Later, even though the 10-year term had expired, Mr. Sy's family still did not claim the land back because they did not need it yet.
In the period 2012-2014, implementing the State's policy on land exchange, 4 rice fields of Mr. Sy were converted into 1 plot in another location, also with an area of nearly 1,700m2.2and was granted a Land Use Rights Certificate by the People's Committee of Thanh Chuong district in 2017, with a term of 50 years, for the purpose of using the land for rice cultivation. Later, because he wanted to use the land for rice cultivation, Mr. Sy went directly to meet the family of Mr. Le Dinh Khang and Ms. Mai Thi Luong to request the return of the land.
"After being granted by the districtLand use rights certificate"My family is large and I have a disabled sister. We really need land for farming. I met the two people I lent the land to ask for it back, but they refused to return it," Mr. Sy said.
Mr. Sy then had to file a petition to the local authorities. The People's Committee of Hanh Lam commune organized mediation many times but to no avail. After many years of unsuccessful land claims, Mr. Sy was forced to file a lawsuit with the People's Court of Thanh Chuong district.
Meanwhile, presenting at the Thanh Chuong District People's Court, Mr. Le Dinh Khang said that in 2001, he and his wife bought 2 sao of rice fields from Mr. Sy for 600,000 VND. "Mr. Sy said he sold the rice fields to do new economic activities. The transaction was only between me and Mr. Sy, no one witnessed it," Mr. Khang said, adding that when he carried out the land exchange, he asked the local government to issue a red book in his and his wife's names but it was not accepted.
Similar to Mr. Khang, Ms. Mai Thi Luong said that her husband bought the land from Mr. Sy for 6.5 million VND. However, there were no documents to prove the purchase.
Meanwhile, according to the verdict of the Thanh Chuong District People's Court, the verification process and the opinions of the plaintiffs and defendants at the trial showed that Mr. Sy and his wife have never completed the procedures to transfer or give away this land plot to anyone. In addition, the defendants did not provide any evidence to show that they had purchased the land, and the defendants themselves admitted that the sale was only verbal, without any documents or evidence. Therefore, the court ordered the two families of Mr. Khang and Mrs. Luong to return the land plot of nearly 1,700m2.2for Mr. Sy's family.
Fields full of iron spikes
The verdict of the Thanh Chuong District People's Court took effect from July 6, 2022. However, the two families who borrowed the land refused to return it, forcing Mr. Sy to repeatedly write complaints asking the local authorities to resolve the matter.
On December 30, 2022, the Thanh Chuong District Civil Judgment Enforcement Office, together with representatives of departments and the People's Committee of Hanh Lam Commune, formed a team to enforce the return of land use rights to Mr. Sy. However, Mr. Khang's family representative was present at the enforcement session but did not sign the minutes. Meanwhile, Ms. Luong's family agreed to return more than 522m to Mr. Sy's family.2 land.
According to Mr. Sy, after the enforcement officer came to read the order to force the return of the land, his family went down to work the land and discovered dozens of iron spikes under the field. After that, Mr. Sy submitted a petition to the authorities to clarify who planted the iron spikes in the field, preventing his family from growing rice. "The land here is a fertile land, my family wanted to produce but had to leave it fallow for the past two seasons because we have not found the person who did it," Mr. Sy said indignantly.
Mr. Le Dinh Gam - Head of Hamlet 6, Hanh Lam Commune, Thanh Chuong District said that while the police investigation into the case has not yet yielded results, Mr. Sy's family has had to abandon the field for the past two crop seasons. "People in the hamlet are very upset that the vandal has not been found, because this fertile field should have been cultivated, ensuring the season, not left fallow, with grass growing well like this," said Mr. Gam.
The Chairman of the People's Committee of Hanh Lam commune said that the land dispute between Mr. Sy's family and two other households has been going on for many years. The locality has invited the families to mediate many times but failed. The case has now been accepted by the District People's Court, tried and executed, returning the land to Mr. Sy. Around February 2023, after Mr. Nguyen Nhu Sy's family reported to the locality that there were suspected criminals planting spikes in the field, the police went to the field, organized the use of iron detectors and retrieved 7-8 iron spikes buried in the field./.
