Headmaster gets nine years in jail for underage sex with students

(L, R) Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Nguyen Thuy Hang and Sam Duc Xuong in the dock Thursday at a trial involving statutory rape in the northern province of Ha Giang

A closed court in the northern province of Ha Giang Thursday handed a nine-year sentence to the former principal of a high school for statutory rape in a high profile sex scandal.

 

Sam Duc Xuong. 54, had sex with students, six of them underaged, between July 2008 and August 2009, the court was told in a hearing which took place under tight security provided by around 50 officers and police dogs.

 

The ex-principal of the Viet Lam High School was accused of forcing the students into prostitution using his money and authority.

 

The Ha Giang People’s Court also handed down suspended sentences of 36 months and 30 months respectively to two of Xuong’s students, Nguyen Thuy Hang and Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy.

 

The girls, both 20, pleaded guilty to procuring schoolgirls for Xuong. They also had sex with Xuong.

 

Another four people were also charged with procuring, but not criminally indicted because they were underage, the court said.

 

The provincial police launched an investigation into the case after some parents reported that Xuong had forced their daughters to have sex with him in September, 2009

 

A trial that opened two months later sentenced Xuong to ten and half years in prison. Hang and Thuy received jail terms of six and five years respectively.

 

As the three defendants pleaded not guilty, an appeals court was convened in February last year when the two girls presented a list of 16 government officials that they had sex with.

 

This prompted the court to order a fresh investigation.

 

After studying the results of the new investigation, Ha Giang’s prosecutors decided not to charge any of the officials listed by the schoolgirls, including Nguyen Truong To, former chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

 

However, To was dismissed and expelled from the Party in July last year after police discovered his nude photos saved in the phone of a sex worker in 2005.

Reported by Thai Son  

Greenhorns

Urban youth turn out for foreign-run conservation competitions

Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy (L) displays her award-winning photo at the British Council’s “How Green Is Your City?” photography contest

Nguyen Thanh Bich wants you to leave your motorbike at home for just one day out of the week.

Sunday is such good a day to use public transport or a bicycle, said the Ho Chi Minh City secondary school student.

“Every citizen should curtail his or her use of any vehicle that adds harmful pollutants to the air,” she said. “Bicycles and public transportation are feasible alternatives.”

Thinking green for just one day a week could provide a good beginning for a broad environmental campaign.

On Tuesday (December 14), Bich won the “Green Tips Competition” hosted by the British Council in Vietnam.

 For the past month, representatives from the Council have run an “I am Green” campaign to raise environmental awareness among Vietnamese youth.

The program included a “How green is your city?” photo competition, Green Tip Box Competition, Wildlife Conservation Competition and several environmental talks hosted at the Council offices in Hanoi and HCMC.

The Council also screened a host of environmentally-themed films.

“The campaign has been extremely successful. We received over 400 entries for the competitions from different places in Vietnam and almost 200 people attended the discussions and film screenings,” said Robin Rickard, British Council Vietnam director.

Prizes for the winners included English courses at the British Council. Vacation packages provided by Exotissimo were given to 30 winners from all categories. Twenty contestants who won the “Wildlife Conservation” competition will go on a trip to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Center in the eponymous district in HCMC.

Many submissions to the photo competition “How Green Is Your City?” depicted parks and green spaces in both towns.

Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy took second prize with an image of the Ho Chi Minh City skyline blurred by layers of smoke.

Thuy expressed concern that the rapid construction in the city will ultimately consume its natural spaces.

“We have less green [-ery than ever before] and we should take action to preserve our hometown,” she said.

GREEN WORKSHOP TO OPEN IN HANOI

A workshop aimed at raising awareness about environmental protection will be held on Sunday (December 19) at the Hanoi University of Pharmaceuticals. The ”Living green – Easy or not?” workshop will be jointly held by the Live and Learn Center for Environment and Community (Live & Learn) and Center for Community Initiative and Environment (C&E). The event will provide a chance for them to discuss strategies to promote a sustainable lifestyle in Vietnam, organizers said. Participants are expected to vote for initiatives in the Green Living exhibition which will showcase ideas from young people across Vietnam. The organizers plan to present the audience with information about cosmetic production and consumption. Applications for participation are available until 5 p.m. on Friday (December 17) at http://www.tinyurl.com/S`ongxanhDehaykho.com/Songxanh-Dehaykho. The Hanoi University of Pharmaceuticals is located at 15 Le Thanh Tong Street in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem District.

Reported by Minh Hung 

Greenhorns

Urban youth turn out for foreign-run conservation competitions

Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy (L) displays her award-winning photo at the British Council’s “How Green Is Your City?” photography contest

Nguyen Thanh Bich wants you to leave your motorbike at home for just one day out of the week.

Sunday is such good a day to use public transport or a bicycle, said the Ho Chi Minh City secondary school student.

“Every citizen should curtail his or her use of any vehicle that adds harmful pollutants to the air,” she said. “Bicycles and public transportation are feasible alternatives.”

Thinking green for just one day a week could provide a good beginning for a broad environmental campaign.

On Tuesday (December 14), Bich won the “Green Tips Competition” hosted by the British Council in Vietnam.

 For the past month, representatives from the Council have run an “I am Green” campaign to raise environmental awareness among Vietnamese youth.

The program included a “How green is your city?” photo competition, Green Tip Box Competition, Wildlife Conservation Competition and several environmental talks hosted at the Council offices in Hanoi and HCMC.

The Council also screened a host of environmentally-themed films.

“The campaign has been extremely successful. We received over 400 entries for the competitions from different places in Vietnam and almost 200 people attended the discussions and film screenings,” said Robin Rickard, British Council Vietnam director.

Prizes for the winners included English courses at the British Council. Vacation packages provided by Exotissimo were given to 30 winners from all categories. Twenty contestants who won the “Wildlife Conservation” competition will go on a trip to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Center in the eponymous district in HCMC.

Many submissions to the photo competition “How Green Is Your City?” depicted parks and green spaces in both towns.

Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy took second prize with an image of the Ho Chi Minh City skyline blurred by layers of smoke.

Thuy expressed concern that the rapid construction in the city will ultimately consume its natural spaces.

“We have less green [-ery than ever before] and we should take action to preserve our hometown,” she said.

GREEN WORKSHOP TO OPEN IN HANOI

A workshop aimed at raising awareness about environmental protection will be held on Sunday (December 19) at the Hanoi University of Pharmaceuticals. The ”Living green – Easy or not?” workshop will be jointly held by the Live and Learn Center for Environment and Community (Live & Learn) and Center for Community Initiative and Environment (C&E). The event will provide a chance for them to discuss strategies to promote a sustainable lifestyle in Vietnam, organizers said. Participants are expected to vote for initiatives in the Green Living exhibition which will showcase ideas from young people across Vietnam. The organizers plan to present the audience with information about cosmetic production and consumption. Applications for participation are available until 5 p.m. on Friday (December 17) at http://www.tinyurl.com/S`ongxanhDehaykho.com/Songxanh-Dehaykho. The Hanoi University of Pharmaceuticals is located at 15 Le Thanh Tong Street in Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem District.

Reported by Minh Hung