Man who blocked road and beat reporter prosecuted
Nguyen Van An and Dao Nhat Vu were prosecuted for causing injury to Nguyen Nhat Hao, a reporter for the magazine Economics and Beverages.
Decision to prosecute and ban An, 36 years old and Vu, 28 years old, both residing in An Dung commune, from leaving their place of residence for the crime ofIntentional injury, according to Article 134, Penal Code, issued by Duc Tho District Police, announced on July 10.
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| Nguyen Van An (right corner) and Dao Nhat Vu at the investigation agency. Photo: Duc Hung |
According to the investigation results, at around 10:30 p.m. on July 1, Mr. Nguyen Nhat Hao, working at the Economic and Beverage Electronic Magazine (an agency of the Vietnam Tea Association) went to Long Son village, An Dung commune, Duc Tho district to verify the illegal land exploitation situation but did not see this activity taking place so he drove his car back.
Authorities allege that An then stood on the concrete road through Long Son village, blocking Mr. Hao's car and asking him to get out to "talk". When the two sides had a conflict, An called Vu (his brother-in-law) for support. After a few minutes, An picked up a hoe that was ready at the pile of bricks near his alley and hit Mr. Hao several times, causing the hoe to break. Vu, who was standing next to him, also jumped in to attack.
Mr. Hao struggled and fought back against the two opponents before escaping into the night. The incident was recorded by the dash cam on Mr. Hao's car. The victim was taken to Hong Linh Town General Hospital for treatment by his friend, suffering 5% health damage. The video of the incident was provided by Mr. Hao to Duc Tho District Police for review.
At the investigation agency, An confessed that he had a truck that he often hired to transport soil. On the evening of July 1, when he stopped Mr. Hao’s car, the two got into an argument over illegal land exploitation. Out of frustration and disagreement with the reporter, he committed the crime.
The leader of the Economic and Beverage Electronic Magazine said that Mr. Hao went to investigate and verify information about land exploitation in Duc Tho district under the assignment of the agency. "We condemn this behavior and have sent an official dispatch to the competent agencies of Ha Tinh and the Vietnam Journalists Association requesting clarification," the leader said.
The Economic and Beverage Electronic Magazine was formerly the Life and Consumption Electronic Newspaper. Mr. Hao is a journalist assigned to research information in Ha Tinh, working there for more than 4 years.
