The incident that caused a stir in public opinion in Dong Van commune (Thanh Chuong) has been resolved!

Public outrage

The incident in which Ms. Ngo Thi Chung (born in 1986) and her relatives (later joined by many other people) surrounded Mr. Tran Dinh Duc's house to demand money started on August 15, 2020. According to Ms. Ngo Thi Chung, the reason for this incident was because Mr. Tran Dinh Duc borrowed 682 million VND from her but delayed in paying it back.

Ms. Ngo Thi Chung and her sister Ngo Thi Thanh reported the incident to Nghe An Newspaper reporters in front of the people of Phuong Son hamlet. Photo: Thanh Hai

Ms. Chung said: In May 2019, Mr. Tran Dinh Duc asked her to help with housework and take care of the children with a salary of 3 million VND/month. Because Mr. Tran Dinh Duc is related to her husband, Mr. Tran Dinh Minh (born in 1985), and lives in the same Phuong Son neighborhood, Ms. Chung accepted. In September 2019, Mr. Duc said that he had a piece of land at Cua Hoi roundabout, he intended to cut it into 7m to sell to Ms. Chung for 580 million VND "so that the two families can live together happily in the future".

Ms. Chung's husband has been working abroad in Taiwan for more than 7 years, so the family has some money in the bank. Therefore, although it has not yet reached the deadline, she agreed to withdraw money from the bank and give it to Mr. Duc to complete the procedures for certifying land use rights. By the end of 2019, Mr. Duc said that thanks to his connections, he was able to bid for land on 3-2 Street (Vinh City), and offered to leave Ms. Chung 8 meters for 520 million VND. Therefore, from around September 2019 to June 2020, Ms. Chung withdrew money from 3 banks: Eximbank, Agribank, and Lien Viet Bank many times to give to Mr. Duc with a total amount of 682 million VND.

House of Mr. Tran Dinh Duc's family in Phuong Son hamlet. Photo: Thanh Hai

Also according to Ms. Chung: During that time, Mr. Duc promised to transfer the Land Use Rights Certificate of the land plot in Cua Hoi by April 2020. However, Mr. Duc did not fulfill his promise... Worried, Ms. Chung consulted with relatives and was told that the land on 3-2 Street in Vinh City did not have that price. She asked many times but Mr. Duc only promised and did not fulfill, so on August 14, she and her sister, Ngo Thi Thanh, called Mr. Duc's wife, Ms. Tran Thi Tu Oanh, to ask for the address of the agency that issued the Land Use Rights Certificate so that they could ask for it directly.

Ms. Oanh informed that the land use right certificate is at the Land Use Right Office and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, headquartered in Vinh city. On August 14, the two sisters (Ms. Chung and Ms. Thanh) asked a relative to take them to Vinh city to find these agencies. However, they all received the answer "no"; someone out of pity instructed "if you buy land in Cua Hoi, you should go to Nghi Thai commune to ask...". Faced with such a situation, on the night of August 14, Ms. Chung and her relatives went to Mr. Tran Dinh Duc's house to ask for their money back. But from that point on, Mr. Duc replied that he did not receive any money from Ms. Chung. That is why the incident on August 15 and has lasted until now...

Ms. Ngo Thi Chung's family lives in a small room (left) of this ground-floor house. Photo: Thanh Hai

Regarding Ms. Chung's supporters, they gathered around Mr. Duc's house, mainly people living in Phuong Son hamlet. Until 3:00 p.m. on August 20, 2020, there were still about 50 people standing around Mr. Duc's house to put pressure on him, asking him to return the money to Ms. Chung. The reason for this was because they thought Ms. Ngo Thi Chung's family was very pitiful, honest and simple, so they were deceived by Mr. Tran Dinh Duc.

Many people expressed sympathy for Ms. Chung because she was in a very difficult situation, having to work for a living; meanwhile, the money she had saved was thanks to her husband's efforts to work abroad. Because the two sides did not witness the money transaction, there were no witnesses, no confirmation documents, so many people thought that if the people did not speak up, Ms. Chung would not be paid by Mr. Duc... Many people said: "We are waiting for the authorities to intervene impartially and objectively so that Ms. Chung can get her money back."

The district is taking action!

According to the Dong Van commune authorities, there was a time when a large number of people gathered (about 400 people on the evening of August 16) to demand that Mr. Tran Dinh Duc pay Ms. Chung. In response to this incident, the Dong Van commune authorities and mass organizations met with Ms. Ngo Thi Chung to learn about the incident and to encourage people not to gather in large numbers; and on the other hand, they urgently reported to the leaders of the Thanh Chuong District People's Committee to ask for instructions.

Since early afternoon on August 20, 2020, many people from Phuong Son hamlet have come to the area near Mr. Tran Dinh Duc's house. Photo: Thanh Hai

According to the Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuong, upon receiving the news, on the evening of August 17, the Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, Mr. Trinh Van Nha, went to Phuong Son hamlet to grasp the situation. On August 18, the Chairman of the District People's Committee, together with the leaders of the District Police, continued to go to Phuong Son hamlet to meet with Ms. Ngo Thi Chung and the people to exchange and grasp information. Therefore, the people believe that the incident will be resolved by the authorities at all levels, and since then, the number of large gatherings has decreased...

Chairman of Dong Van Commune People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Chuong said that on the evening of August 16, several hundred people and Ms. Chung surrounded Mr. Tran Dinh Duc's house. Photo: Thanh Hai

On the side of Thanh Chuong District Police, on August 15, when receiving information about the incident, they immediately recognized the complexity and took professional actions to prevent possible situations of insecurity and disorder. In particular, they directly met with the family of Mr. Tran Dinh Duc and Ms. Ngo Thi Chung, requesting that on the basis of family affection and social ethics, they resolve the matter with reason and compassion; propagandizing and mobilizing Ms. Ngo Thi Chung's relatives not to have extreme behaviors and bring Ms. Chung back home to wait for the authorities to resolve the matter. At the same time, the Thanh Chuong District Police Investigation Agency guided and received Ms. Ngo Thi Chung's report to resolve it in accordance with the law...

People gathered in front of Mr. Tran Dinh Duc's house. Photo: Thanh Hai

According to Mr. Trinh Van Nha - Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, in the context of the complicated potential of the Covid-19 epidemic, the incident in Phuong Son hamlet is extremely worrying. Therefore, upon receiving the information, the District People's Committee directly went to the grassroots to direct Dong Van Commune People's Committee to coordinate with functional agencies to urgently take action. In particular, focusing on mobilizing and propagating so that Ms. Ngo Thi Chung and her relatives and people understand what the functional agencies will do, not to let disorder and insecurity occur, and at the same time, prevent the Covid-19 epidemic.

At the working session at 3:30 p.m. on August 20, 2020, Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee - Mr. Trinh Van Nha affirmed: "The District Police Investigation Agency has received Ms. Ngo Thi Chung's petition. The motto is to be urgent, objective and impartial to investigate, clarify and resolve the case in accordance with the provisions of law...".

The case has been resolved!

At 6:30 p.m. on August 20, 2020, Mr. Trinh Van Nha - Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee informed that in the afternoon of the same day, the District Police and functional forces continued to work with Mr. Tran Dinh Duc.

Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, Mr. Trinh Van Nha worked with Nghe An Newspaper reporters on the afternoon of August 20, 2020. Photo: Thanh Hai

At this meeting, Mr. Duc was aware of the incident, acknowledged that he had received 682 million VND from Ms. Ngo Thi Chung and promised to return this amount. “Mr. Tran Dinh Duc promised to pay Ms. Chung 162 million VND in advance on August 20, 2020. The remaining amount will be paid to Ms. Chung within 60 days…” - Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, Mr. Trinh Van Nha announced.