Panicked because the land left by parents 'disappeared'

Occupy all the neighbor's ancestral land

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Nguyen Van Xung and Nguyen Thi Tiu (deceased) were the parents of Mrs. Luong, who were neighbors with the family of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Than and Mr. Nguyen Van Kiem (now Nguyen Van Son's son), in Van Yen hamlet, Van Thanh commune. When Mr. Xung and Mrs. Tiu passed away, because their children were sick, working and married far away, both families encroached and divided the land to merge into their own plot of land.

Ms. Luong presented the incident to reporters. Photo: Tien Dong

According to the petition of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien Luong sent to Nghe An Newspaper, her parents had 3 children. During their lifetime, they created a common property which was land plot number 437, map sheet 299, area 360m2.², now part of plot 764 and part of plot 803, map sheet number 19. In 1989, her father passed away without leaving a will, then her mother stayed alone on that land because Mrs. Luong herself went to work far away, her younger brother got married and moved out to live elsewhere. In 1984, her younger sister also got married and moved to Dong Thanh commune. At this time, because Mrs. Tiu lived alone, Mrs. Luong's younger brother, Mr. Cuong, took her back to take care of her. In January 1994, Mrs. Tiu passed away without leaving a will.

The land that previously belonged to Ms. Luong's parents is now located in Mr. Than's garden. Photo: Tien Dong

“When my mother moved in with my younger brother, there were still houses, trees and two graves on that land. My sisters and I occasionally visited the old house and burned incense on those two graves. After my mother passed away, my sisters and I also determined that this wasancestral land, grandparents, parents left so will build a church and have no intention to give, donate or transfer to anyone. After I returned from the South, determined to live permanently on the land left by my parents, I discovered that the land area had been completely encroached by two neighboring families, Mr. Nguyen Van Kiem (later Mr. and Mrs. Kiem gave it to their son Nguyen Van Son) and Nguyen Thanh Than" - Mrs. Luong indignantly said.

A grave is located in Mr. Than's garden. Photo: Tien Dong

After her land was occupied, Ms. Luong repeatedly sent petitions to the People's Committee of Van Thanh commune requesting a resolution. On October 13, 2020 and November 24, 2020, the People's Committee of Van Thanh commune held a reconciliation meeting between the families but failed.

In the minutes of the reconciliation meeting on the morning of October 13, 2020, Mr. Than stated that: Mr. Than has lived on the land since 1983; at that time, there was a plot of land belonging to Mr. Nguyen Van Xung adjacent to it; in 1986, because Mr. Xung's family did not live on the land, the house collapsed, so Mr. Cuong (Mr. Xung's son) demolished the house. In 1986, the Cooperative came to hand over the land and divided Mr. Xung's land to Mr. Than's family and Mr. Kiem's ​​family.

Also at this reconciliation meeting, the People's Committee of Van Thanh Commune stated that the legal documents on land allocation and land allocation of the Cooperative at the previous time no longer existed. Not to mention, in the Land Use Rights Certificate of Mr. Than issued on April 12, 1995 (under the name of his wife Dao Thi Hue), the plot number and area were not specifically stated.

In addition, there is still a grave that has been enclosed in the garden of Mr. Nguyen Van Son's house. Photo: Tien Dong

On November 24, 2020, at the land dispute mediation meeting between Ms. Luong's family and Mr. Nguyen Van Son's family. In his opinion, Mr. Son stated that, at the time his father was still alive, the land was only covered by the road leading to Mr. Xung's land; currently, Mr. Son's family has built a solid structure. Mr. Son himself has completed the procedures to change the red book to a pink book and the current issued area is smaller than the red book.

In both conciliation sessions on October 13 and November 24, 2020, the parties failed to reach an agreement, which is why the dispute has not been resolved to date.

Mrs. Luong's parents' land plot number 437 on map sheet 299 (marked area). Photo: Tien Dong

Arbitrary occupation

Regarding this issue, in a report sent to the People's Court of Yen Thanh district on January 26, 2022, the People's Committee of Yen Thanh district said that Mr. Nguyen Thanh Than's land plot had its origin recognized by the State for Land Use Rights before October 15, 1993. According to map 299, it is land plot number 436, area 260m2²According to the cadastral map, the land plot is number 764, map sheet number 19, area 501m2²Mr. Than's household was granted a Land Use Rights Certificate by the District People's Committee on April 12, 1995 in the name of Ms. Dao Thi Hue, with a total land area of ​​2,256m2.², of which 1,762m²Agricultural land, residential land and garden land area do not show plot number or map sheet number.

The gate to Mr. Than's house and in the distance is Mr. Son's house. Currently, the entrance to Mrs. Luong's parents' land is no longer there. Photo: Tien Dong

Yen Thanh District People's Committee also confirmed the origin and land use process of plot 437 (map 299), before 1980, it was residential land of Mr. Nguyen Van Xung's family. Mr. Nguyen Van Xung's family lived on that plot of land until about 1986 to 1989. After Mr. Xung passed away, his wife, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tiu, moved in with her son Nguyen Van Cuong's family, and that plot of land has been divided and used by Mr. Than's family and Mr. Nguyen Van Kiem's ​​family since then. Mr. Kiem's ​​family covers the entrance to plot 437. Yen Thanh District People's Committee also confirmed that there is currently no document proving who has been assigned to use plot 437.

On the afternoon of March 1, we went with local officials to the houses of Mr. Nguyen Van Son and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Than to understand the incident objectively. Mr. Nguyen Van Son replied that he was given the land by his parents so he did not know. In fact, when answering the local authorities at the reconciliation meeting on November 24, 2020, Mr. Son said that "at the time his father was alive, he only covered the road leading to Mr. Xung's land".

After that, we continued to meet Mr. Nguyen Thanh Than, after presenting personal documents. Mr. Than also admitted that Mr. Xung and Mrs. Tiu's family used to live next door to his house. After both Mr. Xung and Mrs. Tiu passed away, the Cooperative divided this plot of land. While we were discussing, a person who called himself "uncle" came and chased us and the commune officials out.

A man who called himself "uncle" chased us and the Van Thanh commune officials out while we were talking with Mr. Than. Photo: Tien Dong

Clearly, the Law strictly prohibits the act of encroaching on or occupying land. Article 3 of Decree 91/2019/ND-CP, dated November 19, 2019, also affirms that “land occupation” is the act of arbitrarily using land under the legal use rights of another organization or individual without the permission of that organization or individual, or the consent of the state management agency.

However, plot 437 has an area of ​​360m2.²According to map 299, the land belonged to Mrs. Luong's parents - Mr. Nguyen Van Xung and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tiu. Although it was ancestral land, used before 1980, it has "evaporated" while the neighbors on both sides, Mr. Than and Mr. Son's families, without the consent of Mrs. Luong's family and the local government, have brazenly merged it into their family's land, clearly an act of "land grabbing".

On the side of the local government of Van Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, after unsuccessful conciliation, they also instructed Ms. Luong’s family to file a lawsuit. However, according to our investigation, in addition to “occupying land” of Ms. Luong’s family, Mr. Than is being sued by another family for land encroachment.