Binh Chanh District Police Chief dismissed after Xin Chao restaurant incident

After nearly 4 months of being suspended from work due to alleged mistakes in prosecuting the owner of Xin Chao coffee shop, the chief of Binh Chanh district police was dismissed.

On August 23, Ho Chi Minh City Police announced the disciplinary decision ofThe General Director of the People's Public Security Department, by way of dismissal, of Colonel Nguyen Van Quy - former Chief of Binh Chanh District Police.

Mr. Quy was the one who signed the decision to prosecute and conclude the investigation against Mr. Nguyen Van Tan (49 years old, owner of Xin Chao Coffee Shop) for illegal business. These decisions of Mr. Quy were determined to be "not in accordance with regulations".

Two deputy heads of the Economic Police Team and the Binh Chanh District Police Department were also disciplined. Major Nguyen Hoang Tuan was dismissed and Captain Le Canh Tuan was warned.

Xin Chao Coffee Shop opposite Binh Chanh District Police Headquarters. Photo: Quoc Thang.

According to the case, on August 18, 2015, Mr. Tan was fined by Binh Chanh District Police for selling coffee, breakfast... without a business registration certificate.

Nearly a month later, the police inspected the restaurant again, claiming that Mr. Tan had been operating without a food safety certificate. Mr. Tan was then prosecuted for illegal business.

As the case was about to be brought to trial, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed Ho Chi Minh City to review the criminal handling of Mr. Tan, and Ho Chi Minh City Party Secretary Dinh La Thang asked the Ho Chi Minh City Police and People's Procuracy to review the case.

At the press conference that followed, Ho Chi Minh City Police determined that the criminal prosecution of Mr. Tan was "grounded but hasty." At the same time, Binh Chanh District People's Court returned the case file for further investigation.

On April 23, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Procuracy Le Minh Tri worked with the leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy and Binh Chanh District, requesting that these units suspend the case, suspend the defendant, apologize and compensate Mr. Tan. After receiving the innocent decision, Mr. Tan refused to be compensated, only wishing to be able to do business in peace.

Two days later, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department temporarily suspended Colonel Quy and Major Nguyen Hoang Tuan (Deputy Head of the Economic and Position Investigation Team - Binh Chanh District Police) from work to clarify the violations and handle them.

In connection with the incident,The Supreme People's Procuracy recently issued a decision to dismissMr. Le Thanh Tong (Deputy Chief of District 6 People's Procuracy, former Deputy Chief of Binh Chanh District People's Procuracy) and Mr. Huynh Van Son (Junior Prosecutor of Binh Chanh District People's Procuracy) for errors in the investigation and approval of the decision to prosecute Mr. Nguyen Van Tan. These two men were also determined to have committed similar violations in prosecuting Mr. Nguyen Van Bi (the man who built a hut to raise geese in his garden) for violating regulations on housing management.

The Xin Chao cafe owner was criminally prosecuted for not having a license, raising concerns about Vietnam's business environment, which is said to have many obstacles.

According to VNE