From the incident in Tam Hop…

There is a Vietnamese idiom “Gập cá bộ cả người tìm ra tay” to talk about the act of falsely accusing others. This is a bad act, violating ethics and morality, but it still appears from time to time. The incident in Tam Hop commune, Quy Hop district is an example.

On July 12, 2022, at the time the 18th Provincial People's Council held the opening session of the 7th session, 13 voters called the hotline to report. Among them, there was a very interesting opinion from voter Ho Dinh Vinh, residing in Nam Son hamlet, Tam Hop commune, Quy Hop district. Voter Vinh reported that the implementation of the province's fish seed support policy in Tam Hop commune was not in accordance with regulations, and requested the Provincial People's Committee to direct inspection and handling.

Contacted the Provincial People's Council staff, requested to provide the phone number of voter Ho Dinh Vinh for easy contact and information verification. However, after checking, this voter did not provide his personal phone number; on July 12, the Provincial People's Council used 3 hotline phones to collect voters' opinions, but one of the phones had a screen problem, so it could not save the number that voter Ho Dinh Vinh called...

Hệ thống ao anh Hồ Đình Vịnh ở xóm Nam Sơn, xã Tam Hợp (Quỳ Hợp) nhận khoán.
The pond system that Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh in Nam Son hamlet, Tam Hop commune (Quy Hop) contracted.

Tam Hop Commune, Quy Hop District is located on National Highway 48, at the Sang Le intersection. The Party Secretary of this commune, Mr. Vu Quang Minh, used to be the Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of the Quy Hop District Party Committee, so journalists and reporters are no strangers. Therefore, when discussing with him about voters of Tam Hop Commune reflecting on the implementation of the fish seed support policy, to ask to check whether there is voter Ho Dinh Vinh in Nam Son hamlet or not? Surprisingly, the answer came right after Mr. Vu Quang Minh received the information. The Party Secretary of Tam Hop Commune confirmed that there is voter Ho Dinh Vinh in Nam Son hamlet. But according to him, the reflection of the existence of the fish seed support policy for the people of Tam Hop Commune needs to be reviewed. Mr. Minh said: “I think there may have been a mistake. Because of this content, at the end of 2021, the Provincial People's Council requested the People's Committee of Quy Hop District to verify and clarify. Quy Hop District and Tam Hop Commune then checked and reported to the Provincial People's Council in writing...".

Forwarded to Mr. Vu Quang Minh the link of voters' opinions posted by the Provincial People's Council on the electronic news page at 10:54 a.m. on July 12, 2022. After viewing, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Tam Hop commune replied: "Like this, it is true that someone continues to impersonate citizen Ho Dinh Vinh to make false recommendations to the Provincial People's Council. I suggest that you go to Tam Hop commune to verify the facts to ensure objectivity, and on the commune side, we will also report to the district and direct relevant departments to check...".

Vườn nhà của anh Hồ Đình Vịnh.
Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh's home garden.

In Nam Son hamlet, Ho Dinh Vinh's family is known for being good at economic development. In addition to cultivating a garden of 11 sao, he also contracted 1ha of the hamlet's pond to raise fish. Arriving here on the afternoon of July 26, after stating the reason for his "unintentional" visit, Ho Dinh Vinh smiled and said that at the end of last year, district and commune officials also asked him about this content.

He said that in 2020, there was a severe drought, followed by sudden heavy rains that lasted for a long time, causing severe flooding, so the fish in his family's pond and many households in Tam Hop commune were almost gone. After that, the villagers were informed by the village cadres that if there was any loss in the flood, the information would be made so that the village could make a list and report to the superiors for support. Then in September 2021, his family and a number of households in the village were notified to receive fish fry. The fish fry support was calculated based on the pond area. Due to the large pond area, his family was supported with 52.5 kg of mixed fish fry. Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh said: “That day, I saw the neighbors calling to pick up the fish. At first, I thought it would only be a few kilos, so I just brought a bucket to get it, but then it was nearly 53 kilos. The quality of the fish was not as expected, but I did not file a lawsuit or make any recommendations. Actually, I also knew everything about the province to make a recommendation. Later, I heard that someone had sued them in my name…”.

Biên bản làm việc ngày 21/12/2021 giữa đại diện UBND xã Tam Hợp, Ban cán sự xóm Nam Sơn với anh Hồ Đình Vịnh.
Minutes of the meeting on December 21, 2021 between representatives of Tam Hop Commune People's Committee, Nam Son Hamlet Executive Committee and Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh.

Asked about the quality of fish fry, according to Mr. Vinh, the fish fry supported by the State that he received included common carp, silver carp, and silver carp; while the type of fish he wanted to raise, grass carp, was not seen. “When I came to receive the fish fry, I heard that the province supported people affected by floods, so I didn’t have to pay any money. As for the fish fry, it was a mixed fish, so I wasn’t very satisfied, but since the province supported us, we received them to release in the pond…”. Asked Mr. Vinh, has he received any more fish fry support since then? Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh laughed: “From 2021 until now, there have only been a few minor floods, no loss, so I didn’t report it. Real people, real events, if there’s no loss, then why report it. And this year, I didn’t have any questions or suggestions…”. Do you feel bothered when someone impersonates you? “Last year, I received a letter from the Provincial People’s Council, and then the district and commune came to verify. This year is the same, but it’s not a problem. I have my teeth and am ready to take legal responsibility for what I have said. As for who impersonated me, I think if we trace the phone number that called the Provincial People’s Council, we will know…”, Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh replied.

In Tam Hop commune, there are complete documents related to verifying the content of the reflection of "voter" Ho Dinh Vinh. On December 16, 2021, the Provincial People's Council issued Document No. 531/HĐND-TT informing the People's Committee of Quy Hop district: "At the 4th Session of the 18th Provincial People's Council, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council received voters' opinions and recommendations via the online telephone line, including the content under the jurisdiction of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district. Content: Mr. Ho Tinh Vinh, Nam Son hamlet, Tam Hop commune, Quy Hop district, reflected that the number of fish fry that his family actually received under the fish fry support program was not consistent with the records signed and received at the People's Committee of the commune". Therefore, "it is requested that the People's Committee of Quy Hop district direct the inspection of the content, resolve according to its authority and report to the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council the situation and results of the resolution before January 15, 2022, and at the same time notify the voters of the results".

Anh Hồ Đình Vịnh trao đổi với chị Cảnh Thị Thơm – công chức nông nghiệp xã Tam Hợp.
Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh talks with Ms. Canh Thi Thom - agricultural officer of Tam Hop commune.

Document No. 531/HĐND-TT of the Provincial People's Council was sent to Tam Hop commune, so that on December 21, 2021, the representative of the commune People's Committee and the Executive Committee of Nam Son hamlet organized a meeting with Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh's family. The meeting minutes (signed by the members and Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh) showed that when asked, Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh replied: "I confirm that I did not call the hotline to report the distribution of supporting fish fry, and never even intended to call to report. The person who called to report was not me. I received the fish fry and have no further questions. The signature on the list of fish fry recipients of Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh's household, Nam Son hamlet is indeed my signature". Based on his confirmation, the People's Committee of Tam Hop commune concluded: "After verification, Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh's reflection through the hotline of the Provincial People's Council is not true. Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh was not the one who called to reflect. Mr. Vinh received the amount of fish equivalent to the amount provided, so there is no question about the amount of fish received."

On January 13, 2022, the People's Committee of Quy Hop district issued Official Dispatch No. 48/UBND-NN on responding to voters' opinions and recommendations reflected via the online telephone line at the 4th Session to the Provincial People's Council. The Official Dispatch consists of 3 parts. Part one informs that there is no one named Ho Tinh Vinh in Nam Son hamlet as reported in Official Dispatch No. 531/HDND-TT, but only Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh's household, who received fish fry from the policy to support production recovery due to natural disasters in 2020. Part two is Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh's commitment with the content "he is not the person who called the online hotline at the 4th Session of the Provincial People's Council"; "someone else called to reflect in his name"; "if it is untrue, he will take full responsibility before the law". In part three, is the report on the verification of the District People's Committee on the issue of Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh receiving fish fry; He affirmed that he had received the full 52.5 kg of fish seeds, there was no discrepancy in the records being kept by the commune, and had no comments on this matter.

Văn bản số 531/HĐND-TT ngày 16/12/2021 của HĐND tỉnh và Công văn số 48/UBND-NN ngày 13/1/2022 của UBND huyện Quỳ Hợp.
Document No. 531/HĐND-TT dated December 16, 2021 of the Provincial People's Council and Official Dispatch No. 48/UBND-NN dated January 13, 2022 of the People's Committee of Quy Hop district.

Some officials of Quy Hop district and Tam Hop commune who understood the incident, when asked, put forward some hypotheses about the reason why someone impersonated Mr. Ho Dinh Vinh, reflecting on the support for fish fry. One of them was quite convincing, it was due to unhealthy competition between fish fry suppliers in the area. However, according to the Secretary of the Party Committee of Tam Hop commune, this was just an opinion, there was no basis for consideration.

Mr. Vu Quang Minh said that the State's policy of supporting people when facing natural disasters is very humane. But for that reason, if it is not implemented in accordance with regulations, the support goods are not of guaranteed quality, or support is given to the wrong subjects... then the organizations and individuals implementing the policy, in addition to being dealt with by law, will also have a bad reputation that is difficult to wash away. Recently, the Party Committee and the government of Tam Hop commune have thoroughly instructed all cadres to be transparent in the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State, and when there are support policies, they must be implemented promptly and fully. However, there are people who repeatedly impersonate voters, falsely reporting the truth to provincial agencies. This behavior, more or less, affects the reputation of the government of Tam Hop commune. He said: “If possible, I request the competent authority to direct the clarification of the subject who impersonated the voter and reported false information to strictly handle it according to regulations. Currently, the situation of impersonating voters and falsely reporting complaints is on the rise. If the subject impersonating voters of Tam Hop commune can be clarified and handled, it will also contribute to deterring individuals with similar bad intentions…”.

Sending relevant documents, and telling what he heard and saw in Tam Hop commune with the provincial People's Council officials, there were initial discussions. According to him, this is an issue that the provincial People's Council will need to pay attention to in the coming time. He said: "The provincial People's Council will have solutions to screen voters' opinions to promptly detect subjects impersonating voters, reflecting false content..." Listening to him, I suddenly remembered the proverb "Put fire in someone else's hand". "Put fire in someone else's hand" implies the act of falsely accusing others. This is a bad act, violating ethics and morality. Therefore, it is necessary to condemn those who commit this act!