The allegations of forged identity cards are true!

(Baonghean)In late June 2013, Nghe An Newspaper received a letter from a citizen in Hung Yen Nam commune, Hung Nguyen district, alleging that there was a situation in the commune where some elderly people were fraudulently altering their identity cards to receive social welfare benefits. Verification confirmed that this was indeed the case...

The complaint cites two cases of altered identity cards: Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam in Hamlet 1 and Ms. Mai Thi Thuy in Hamlet 10. Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam, born in 1932, was issued identity card number 10803360172 on July 16, 1978. On June 16, 2010, she was issued a new identity card number 1865626824 under the name Nguyen Thi Qua, born in 1925. Ms. Mai Thi Thuy, born on July 12, 1938, was issued identity card number 180301194 on July 23, 1978. On June 18, 2009, she was issued a new identity card number 187133412, born on May 18, 1930. With their renewed identity cards, Ms. Tam and Ms. Thuy are entitled to social welfare benefits for the elderly (Ms. Tam received benefits in 2010, and Ms. Thuy received benefits in 2011).

Working with the whistleblowers, the reporter was provided with photocopies of both the old and new identity cards of Ms. Tam and Ms. Thuy as evidence. In the case of Ms. Mai Thi Thuy, there was also a set of personal documents including a medal award declaration; a health insurance card; and an application for social assistance, but the signature was on the application form by someone named Phan Trong Hong and confirmed by Mr. Hoang Kim Tan, Vice Chairman of Hung Yen Nam commune. According to the whistleblowers, the issuance of new identity cards to Ms. Tam and Ms. Thuy was facilitated by Mr. Tran Van Lieu, Chief of Police of Hung Yen Nam commune.

Identity cards and social welfare benefit decisions for Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam and Ms. Mai Thi Thuy.

Verification at the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Hung Nguyen District revealed that the application file for the award of medals to Ms. Mai Thi Thuy includes: a declaration of revolutionary activities, a certificate of permanent residence, a certificate from the State Institute of Emulation and Commendation, a registration form, a Decision from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on the issuance of a subsidy certificate, and a certified copy of her identity card dated April 21, 1999, signed and stamped by the Head of Hung Yen Commune Police, Nguyen Van Quynh. All these documents clearly state that Ms. Mai Thi Thuy was born on July 12, 1938.

After reviewing the records and comparing them with Decision No. 582 dated June 18, 2011, issued by the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen District regarding social welfare benefits for Ms. Mai Thi Thuy (which states her birth year as 1930), officials from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs of Hung Nguyen District all found evidence of fraud in the re-declaration of her birth year on her new identity card. An official from the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs stated: “We cannot confirm whether Ms. Mai Thi Thuy was born in 1938 or 1930, but based on the records we have, the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs does not accept such an age alteration. Ms. Thuy's altered identity card was issued shortly after the documents in her application for medals and awards, and furthermore, the age alteration was done in a way that benefited her personally...”

At the Social Insurance office of Hung Nguyen district, we were shown the list of health insurance cards issued to recipients of medals and awards from Hung Yen Nam commune. Ms. Mai Thi Thuy's health insurance card has code YZ00035042, card number CK2401902200055, initial medical examination and treatment location at Hung Yen Bac commune health station, and she was born in 1938.

According to Mr. Dau Khac Quy, Chairman of the Elderly Association of Hung Yen Nam commune, people aged 80 and above are entitled to a social allowance of 180,000 VND per month. The most important requirement for eligibility is an identity card. Regarding Ms. Mai Thi Thuy's application for the allowance, Mr. Quy stated that there was a mistake made by Mr. Phan Trong Hong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Elderly Association of the commune. Mr. Quy explained that every year, the Elderly Association of Hung Yen Nam commune conducts a review to identify members who have reached the age of 80 and requests them to submit their identity cards.

Later, the Vice Chairman of the Association, along with Mr. Phan Trong Hong, met with each person and helped them write the application. In Ms. Thuy's case, Mr. Hong mistakenly signed the application after writing it, and the signing and stamping by the Vice Chairman of the commune, Hoang Kim Tan, was also due to a lack of verification. Mr. Quy claimed this was unintentional, not deliberate. Mr. Quy also affirmed that he was unaware that Ms. Tam and Ms. Thuy had two identity cards with different ages, and that since they provided identity cards showing their ages over 80, the Association had a responsibility to help them process their applications for social assistance.

When asked about the commune's responsibility in issuing identity cards to the people, the Party Secretary of Hung Yen Nam commune, Phan Anh Tuan, affirmed that this is entirely the responsibility of the commune's police, and Mr. Tran Van Lieu, the head of the commune's police, is the representative carrying out this task. During the meeting with the head of the commune's police, Mr. Tran Van Lieu, in response to the documents we presented, acknowledged that both Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam and Ms. Mai Thi Thuy had falsified their ages in their newly issued identity cards. Regarding Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam changing her name to Nguyen Thi Qua on her new identity card, Mr. Lieu explained that it was because she was using the name of her deceased husband.

Mr. Lieu said: In the household registration records from 2002 of Hung Yen Nam Commune Police, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam was listed as Nguyen Thi Qua and recorded her birth year as 1925. Regarding Ms. Mai Thi Thuy, Mr. Lieu said she is his mother-in-law and that the falsification of her identity card information has caused him great embarrassment. When asked about the process of issuing and replacing identity cards, according to Mr. Tran Van Lieu, people apply for identity cards by filling out an application form themselves, and the working group of the District Police directly checks the application, takes photos, and takes fingerprints... then forwards it to the commune police for verification.

As the head of the commune's police, Mr. Tran Van Lieu is responsible for checking and, if accurate, stamping the documents. When asked about his responsibility regarding the age falsification by Ms. Tam and Ms. Thuy, Mr. Lieu explained that during previous ID card renewal processes, hundreds of applications in Hung Yen Nam commune had been returned by the district police due to incorrect information, and he did not know why Ms. Tam and Ms. Thuy's applications were successfully processed (!?). Mr. Lieu complained: The applications for social welfare benefits should have gone through the commune's review board. If the board had conducted a thorough check, the citizens' accusations of the two women falsifying their ages on their ID cards to receive social welfare benefits would not have occurred...

Through the relevant organizations and individuals, it can be confirmed that the fraudulent declaration and alteration of identity cards to receive social welfare benefits in Hung Yen Nam commune is true. We request that the police and relevant authorities clarify the responsibilities of the individuals involved in issuing and replacing identity cards for Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam and Ms. Mai Thi Thuy, and take measures to prevent this situation from recurring.

Text and photos: Nhat Lan