Arrests and torture in Quynh Luu
(Baonghean)Just because they suspected one young man of stealing money, five other young men in Quynh Phuong commune (Quynh Luu district) abducted him, tortured him, and buried him in a pit...
In his home in Tan Hai village, Quynh Phuong commune, Bui Tuan Anh (19 years old), still shaken, recounted the incident: “On the evening of April 29th, while I was playing games at an internet cafe, Phan Tien Manh from Phuong Hong hamlet and another young man called me out, forced me into a car, and drove me straight to the coastal road. There were three more people there, and they asked me if I had stolen money from Mr. Trung's house.” After beating and forcing Tuan Anh to confess to the theft, but without success, the group of young men took Tuan Anh to a cemetery in the border area between Quynh Phuong and Quynh Lien communes, tied his hands and feet, and dug a hole to bury him in a squatting position, with his head and hands exposed. About 10 minutes later, the group dug up Tuan Anh and let him go home.
Tuan Anh stands beside the pit where the group of young men buried him.
On the night of April 29th, upon receiving information from Tuan Anh's family, the Quynh Phuong commune police arrived and documented the incident. Mr. Dau Van Hao, Head of the Quynh Phuong Commune Police, stated that the commune police immediately identified the group of young men responsible for the incident: Nguyen Van Trung, residing in Phuong Hong hamlet; Phan Tien Manh and Vu Van Duong, both residing in Hong Phong hamlet; Ho Van Bong and Phan Van Tien, both residing in Tan Phong hamlet; and all of these young men were born in 1988; with Nguyen Van Trung being the mastermind. “On April 30th, all five individuals involved in the torture were summoned by the Quynh Phuong commune police for questioning. There, the group confessed. We have transferred the entire case file and the suspects to the Hoang Mai Police Station for further investigation and processing,” Mr. Dau Van Hao affirmed. On April 30th, representatives from the families of the young men visited Tuan Anh's home to apologize, but Tuan Anh's family has not yet accepted their apology.
Speaking with us, Master Nguyen Vinh Dien, Head of Vinh Dien and Associates Law Office, stated that the actions of the group of young men constitute the crime of unlawful detention under Article 123 of the Penal Code. Mr. Nguyen Van Chau, Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Phuong commune, said that all five individuals involved in the incident have low levels of education and poor legal awareness; when summoned to the commune police station to write statements, the entire group claimed they only threatened Bui Tuan Anh and did not know that it constituted a crime. “The nature and severity of the incident are quite serious, so we instructed the commune police to handle it immediately and simultaneously reported it to the district police. The incident is currently being investigated by the Quynh Luu District Police, but the commune government's stance is to handle it strictly, sufficiently to deter and set an example for other young people,” Mr. Chau affirmed.
Article 123 of the Penal Code stipulates: 1. Whoever unlawfully arrests, detains, or imprisons a person shall be punished with a warning, non-custodial rehabilitation for up to two years, or imprisonment from three months to two years. 2. Committing the crime in one of the following cases shall be punished with imprisonment from one year to five years: a) Organized crime; b) Abusing official position or authority; c) Against a public official; d) Repeated offenses; e) Against multiple people. 3. Committing the crime with serious consequences shall be punished with imprisonment from three years to ten years. 4. The offender may also be prohibited from holding certain positions for one year to five years.
Text and photos: Nguyen Khoa