A village chief in Nghe An 'didn't dare sleep' for 4 years because his house was constantly burned down and he was threatened with death
(Baonghean.vn) - For the past 4 years, Mr. Le Viet Thang's family (head of hamlet 10, Ngoc Son commune, Thanh Chuong district) has always lived in fear and anxiety as bad guys continuously burned down the family's house, which is still in the dark.
The house was burned down 4 times.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, head of Hamlet 10, Ngoc Son Commune, Thanh Chuong District, has just sent a petition to the authorities at all levels to report the situation of bad guys continuously burning down his family's barn (buffalo and cow pens) for many years. The incident has caused great property damage and caused panic among family members.
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| Mr. Le Viet Thang - Head of Hamlet 10, Ngoc Son Commune (Thanh Chuong) recounted 4 incidents of bad guys burning down houses. Photo: Pham Bang |
Mr. Thang recalled that at around 4 p.m. on July 12, 2016, while he was away, with only his wife and young children at home, the thief climbed into the house through the star fruit tree and set fire to the straw house. When the fire started, his daughter-in-law came back from cutting grass and saw the straw house on fire, so she called the neighbors to come over and get water to put out the fire. Fortunately, the fire did not cause any property damage to the family.
While his family did not understand what had happened, 5 days later (July 17, 2016), taking advantage of the time when he and many people in the neighborhood were attending a funeral, and his son and daughter-in-law were at work, the thief continued to break into the house. According to Mr. Thang, this time the thief set fire to the house from behind, so it took 15 minutes for the neighbors to discover it.
“I was getting a haircut at the time, when I heard the news, I ran back and saw the fire had broken out fiercely. Neighbors ran over to help put out the fire but it was no use. The fire caused my family nearly 150 million VND in damage, including the house, many farming tools, pigs and chickens,” Mr. Thang said, adding that before the fire broke out, there was a piece of paper posted on the wall in front of his family's gate with the following content: ""Let Mr. Thang know, your four sons are gone and I will kill you, slash you while your sons are gone. Do you think I'm afraid of the four of you? We don't know who threatened whom yet."
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| Before burning down Mr. Thang's house, the suspect posted threatening notes on the front gate. Photo: Pham Bang |
While the case was being investigated by the police, in March 2018, Mr. Thang’s family continued to be vandalized. That was on March 9, 2018, at around 9am, Mr. Thang’s motorbike broke down so he took it to be repaired. Taking advantage of the time when only his wife and children were at home, the bad guys sneaked in and set fire to the house.
“This time, I was also informed by my family, so I rushed home. Luckily, there was no straw in the middle room at that time, so the fire did not spread to the wood storage room, but it still caused more than 35 million VND in damage to my family,” Mr. Thang said.
The incident did not stop there, the bad guys continued to destroy Mr. Thang's family's property for the fourth time. On June 28, 2019, around 2:00 p.m., he woke up to go by motorbike. His son took the cows out to graze, his daughter-in-law went to work. While Mr. Thang was taking shelter from the sun on the side of the road, he received a phone call saying that the house was on fire again. This fire caused his family about 150 million VND in damage.
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| The burnt frame of the house is now being chopped into firewood by Mr. Thang. Photo: Pham Bang |
Linking the four fires, Mr. Thang believes that it was not a coincidence but that there were bad guys causing the fire with the intention of taking revenge on him. Because before the fire happened, the bad guys posted a piece of paper on the gate and wall of his house with the content threatening to slash and kill Mr. Thang while his children were away.
Like the third fire on March 9, 2018, 2 days before, the bad guys also posted a note with the following content:"Announcement, your four children are away, I will kill you, slash you while your children are away".
“During my time as the village chief, I was not afraid of difficulties or conflicts. I was dedicated to my work and protected the legitimate rights and interests of the people. Therefore, I am very sad when bad people destroyed my property like this.”
Confused, worried
Mr. Le Viet Thang is 62 years old this year. In 2000, Mr. Thang was elected by the people in the hamlet as hamlet chief and held this role until 2012. After that, he retired from being hamlet chief for 5 years to seek medical treatment and in 2017, he was elected by the people again as hamlet chief.
“During my time as village chief, it is not correct to say that there were no conflicts, but they were only minor. For example, punishing cows that ate rice, administrative actions... but it was mainly in the spirit of lifting the bar high and hitting lightly, just reminding. In the past 2 years, with my straightforward and upright nature, I have had to face some bad elements at work, affecting their interests. And I think this could be the main reason why my family has been destroyed for many years,” said Mr. Thang.
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| Mr. Thang's family installed surveillance cameras to find the culprit who burned down the house, but to no avail. Photo: Pham Bang |
After the fires, Mr. Thang also sent petitions to all levels and sectors. Thanh Chuong District Police also came to examine the scene and prepare a file for investigation, but so far they have not found the culprit.
In 2018, Mr. Thang installed a surveillance camera, but before the fire broke out, the camera was broken and could not record the image. For the fourth fire, the camera could not record the image of the person pasting the paper in front of the gate because it was dark and the distance was too far.
“The four fires not only caused my family about 333 million VND in damage, but also caused panic and anxiety for family members over the past four years, especially the children.”
“For the past four years, the seven members of the family have been living in a state of fear and anxiety. In the summer, even though it is hot, my daughter-in-law does not dare to open the window for fear of retaliation. There must always be someone at home and we dare not leave because we do not know when bad guys will harm my family,” said Mr. Thang.
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| Mr. Le Viet Thang and his wife, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Truong, have been living in fear and anxiety for the past four years. Photo: Pham Bang |
With an expression that could not hide her anxiety, Ms. Nguyen Thi Truong (born in 1960, Mr. Thang's wife) said that every time the thief burned down the house, she was at home but because the house was hidden behind, she could not detect it.
“The fourth time, I was also extremely vigilant, but the thief was too fast. He only waited for my husband to leave the house before taking action, leaving me unable to react,” said Ms. Truong, adding that after several times the house was burned down, she also discussed with her husband about quitting her job as village chief, but he refused.
Hearing this, Mr. Thang asserted: "Even though I was sabotaged by bad guys, I am not afraid. As long as people still trust me, I will continue to be the village chief."
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| Mr. Thang's family's house has just been rebuilt with a corrugated iron roof to prevent further vandalism. Photo: Pham Bang |
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Thai Van An - Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Son Commune (Thanh Chuong) confirmed that the incident Mr. Thang described was true. Commenting on this hamlet chief, Mr. An said that in his work, Mr. Thang worked responsibly, enthusiastically, and was trusted by the people.
"Previously, Mr. Thang had 5 years off work and was re-elected as hamlet chief in 2017. During his time off, Mr. Thang often fought against existing problems in the hamlet, so there may be people who are jealous," said Mr. An, adding that the commune government and the police also determined that the cause of the incident was due to personal conflicts and hatred. Recently, when meeting with voters, Mr. Thang and many people asked the authorities to speed up the investigation to find the bad guys, but this is a complicated case, so the authorities must be careful.
"After receiving the report from the base, the police went down to examine the scene, organized an investigation and have now narrowed down the suspect. However, this is a complicated case because the suspect committed the act alone, when there were no people around, and there were no witnesses, so the evidence is thin. Currently, the Thanh Chuong District Police are still focusing on investigating and clarifying the case to quickly capture the perpetrator."
