Five members of a family have been sentenced for assaulting police officers.
Disagreeing with the bridge construction, five members of a family in An Giang province obstructed the work, attacking the task force with rags soaked in gasoline and boiling water mixed with shrimp paste.
On February 24th, the People's Court of Chau Phu District (An Giang Province) held the first-instance trial of a case involving resistance against public officials that occurred in the area.
The defendants in the case include Do Thi Phuong (53 years old), Do Thi Dao (66 years old); Do Thanh Nhan (42 years old), Le Thi Phan (25 years old, all residing in Binh Phu commune, Chau Phu district) and Do Thi Phien (63 years old, residing in Tan Loi commune, Tinh Bien town, An Giang province).
According to the indictment, in 2019, with the permission of the Chau Phu District People's Committee, the investor proceeded with the construction of the Canal 12 Bridge on Bac Cay Duong Road (located in Binh Quoi hamlet, Binh Phu commune).
The Canal 12 bridge was built to serve the general transportation needs of the people. However, during the construction process, the defendant Do Thi Phuong and her family repeatedly obstructed the construction and demanded compensation.
At approximately 8:30 AM on August 22, 2023, when construction work reached the front of the defendant Phuong's house, this woman, along with defendants Nhan and Phan (Phuong's daughter) and other family members, stood in the way and threatened to throw boiling water mixed with shrimp paste at the workers.
Upon receiving the report, the Binh Phu commune police quickly arrived at the scene to maintain order in the area. At this time, the defendant Phuong used a rag soaked in burning oil to throw at the construction workers.
When the commune police force requested that the defendant Phuong and her family members not obstruct the construction, Phan used a ladle to throw boiling water mixed with shrimp paste at the Deputy Head of the commune police.
With the intervention of the district police and local authorities, the defendant Phuong's family did not obstruct the construction. However, Ms. Phuong herself was invited to the commune office for questioning, but she refused to comply.
Defendant Phuong then spoke to defendant Dao and called defendant Do Thi Phien (Phuong's older sister) to come and help prevent the bridge construction and the work of the authorities.
The police continued to demand that the defendants Phuong and Phan stop obstructing the construction and come to the police station for questioning, but they not only refused to comply but also joined others in attacking with boiling water mixed with shrimp paste, rags soaked in gasoline, and other objects, injuring several police officers.
Subsequently, the police proceeded to draw up a report documenting the arrest of the perpetrator in the act and seized numerous related pieces of evidence. The defendant, Phuong, suffered burns from the fire.
On August 31, 2023, defendants Phan, Dao, Phien, and Nhan were charged and investigated. On October 27, 2023, defendant Phuong was also charged and investigated.
The court sentenced the defendants Do Thi Phuong to 3 years and 6 months in prison; Le Thi Phan to 2 years and 6 months in prison; and Do Thi Dao, Do Thanh Nhan, and Do Thi Phien each to 2 years in prison, all for the crime of "Resisting public officials in the performance of their duties".
