Gang sentenced to prison

The HCM City People's Court yesterday sentenced the owner of a massage parlor to 12 years in prison for illegally detaining a total of 73 women at a local chain of unlicensed massage parlors after a two-day trial.

Phan Cao Tri, 41, the owner of Tan Hoang Phat massage parlors, was sentenced to 12 years for "illegally detaining people" and "extorting people's properties."

His accomplices were also given prison sentences for "illegally detaining people". Phan Viet Hau, 29, was sentenced to 10 years in jail; and Phan Quoc Cuong, 37, to nine years. Nguyen Minh Phuong received a three-year sentence, and Nguyen Hoai Nhanh, a one-year sentence.

Tri's wife Phan Thi Yen was sentenced to four years for property extortion.

In January 2011, a court in HCM City convicted Tri and his gang of the same charges and sentenced him to 12 years in prison and the others to two to10 years.

An appeals court later that year, however, reduced Tri's sentence to five years, and the others to between one and half years and four and half years.

The Supreme Court last year issued a re-hearing decision that annulled both previous verdicts due to "serious violations of procedure" and ordered that the investigation be started afresh.

According to the latest indictment, Tri and Yen founded the chain of massage parlors across the city and recruited women, most of them from poor families in the Mekong Delta, to work as masseuses.

They signed labour contracts with terms regarding working time and policies in accordance with laws, but once employed, the women were forced to work from 9 am to 1 am.

The masseuses were also forced to give sexual massage to customers, and if requested by customers, they had to have sex with them.

Prosecutors said the women were not paid and had to live on customers' tips.

The women were banned from leaving their parlors and had to stay at Tri's home after work.

Prosecutors said women who had unwanted pregnancies would be beaten before being forced to have an abortion.

Every year, the masseuses were allowed to take leave twice, but had to pay VND15 million (US$707) as a "deposit" before leaving. They were also asked to pay the same amount if they wanted to quit the job.

Tri and his accomplices were accused of having taken at least a total of VND184 million (nearly $8,700) from nine women who paid them so they could leave the job.

The rest of the women were rescued by police who raided the main parlour of Tan Hoang Phat in Linh Chieu Ward of Thu Duc District on December 6, 2008.

Dengue fever on upward trend

An outbreak of dengue fever has often peaked in the rainy season. Medical experts have fretted over the increasing number of infected patients in the city’s hospitals.

Children hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have lately seen a surge of dengue fever infected infants, for instance, the Children Hospital No.1 is overloaded with over 200 babies in a week.

Moreover, many of them are suffering severe dengue fever at third or fourth stages. Doctors of the Children Hospital No.1 have saved a five year old girl in district 10 who was hospitalized with fever for four day and vomited with blood. Immediately she was put on ventilator. After one week, her health condition is improved and she does not use ventilator any longer.

Similarly, Children Hospital No.2 has also received many dengue fever cases. Dr. Do Chau Viet, head of the hospital’s Infection Division, said that around 50-70 dengue fever children were being treated in two past weeks with ten percent of them were suffering complications.

Even adults got the disease. The Tropical Disease Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City is treating 50 children and 100 adults. Dr. Phan Tu Quy who heads the Emergency Division, said that from the beginning of this year, 900 out of 2,500 cases of dengue fever that are treating in hospital are children.

The Department of Preventive Medicine said that the city has around 150 cases of dengue fever everyday. Since earlier, 4,500 patients in HCMC have been hospitalized due to the disease. The cases of dengue fever had an increase in August.

Not only HCMC but also the southern provinces have seen the outbreaks of dengue fever. Dr. Tran Thi Minh Nguyet , head of the Pediatrics Department of the General Hospital in the southern province of Binh Duong said that the number of dengue children has increased since early August.

Everyday, the hospital receives over 100 children.

Currently, the hospital is treating over 250 dengue fever children, a double increase compared to the previous month.

The Department of Preventive Medicine in the southern province of Binh Phuoc said that the province has 14 outbreaks of dengue causing 250 people to be hospitalized.

The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health said that nearly 10,000 cases of dengue , most of them are from the South. It is announced that the disease has killed five people, since then.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Health has ordered the local government and health authorities to focus on curbing the disease.

Residents must always place a tight lid on containers used for water storage (buckets, drums) where mosquitoes usually lays its eggs on the walls of water-filled containers.

People have to throw away, turn over, empty or store under a roof any container that may accumulate rain; verify that there are no larvae or pupae in stored water (empty the container, wash walls with a brush to remove eggs, rinse, and cover).

Residents must have a good cooperation with health workers who spray chemicals to destroy mosquitoes in the areas.

Children Hospital marks tenth year of organ transplants

The hospital surgeons have carried out 12 kidney transplants and 8 liver transplants on children from their relatives within 10 years.

The first kidney transplant was carried out on Huynh Nguyen Nhat Truc, 21 from the highland province of Gia Lai. The surgeon team included 70 professors, doctors and French medical experts.

The donor was her mother. After the operation, Truc’s health condition is stable.

This first operation was paving the way for next surgeries including kidney and liver transplants in the hospital.

The eighth liver operation took place on September 4 on one year old Phan Nguyen Minh H. from Ho Chi Minh City’s district 8. She was suffering shrunk biliary tract in the last stage leading to infections. She needs a liver transplant. The operation took 15hours with the cooperation of surgeons from Saint Lue Hospital in Belgium.

By statistics, Vietnam has around 96 people suffering from shrunk biliary liver disease and half of them need liver transplants.

Brilliant Tomorrow Fund gives gifts to cancer children

On the occasion of Mid-autumn Festival the Brilliant Tomorrow Fund presented gifts to cancer children in hospitals.

Former Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu , honor chairman of the Brilliant Tomorrow Fund and Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen, chairwoman of the fund gave 50 gifts to cancer children in Pediatrics Division in the National Cancer K Hospital in Hanoi; 150 gifts to infants in Pediatrics Division of The Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion and 70 presents to toddlers in Tumor Division of the Central children Hospital.

The fund leaders also handed out 70 gifts to children in Hue Central Hospital in Thua Thien-Hue Province on the same day.

People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 organized the seventh mid-autumn festival entitled “Dem trang co tich” (Fairy tale full moon night) for 800 children of laborers and disadvantaged families in the district on September 5.

In addition, the district authorities also gave 50 scholarships each worth VND500,000 (US$23.6) and 30 scholarships each worth VND1 million (US$47.2) to children from low-income families.

Education ministry explains new rules

The deputy minister of Education and Training explained the details of the new instructions on methods to review and mark first-graders.

Recently, the Ministry of Education and Training was instructed that to provide their students with marks based on year-end tests, the rest of the education process being exempt from hard grading.

The decision has had varied reactions from the public, some of whom think that marks are a sign of their children's progress. However, many educators think that it is more constructive to give suggestions and advice to students and parents in order to better their school experience.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Vinh Hien explained that the new instructions have an aim to make both students and teachers to scrutinise themselves in order to make class time more valuable. "Classifying students by their marks is unfair and may cause negative effects on some students because each student has a different set of talents. We should create academic results that are in tune with real goals to achieve the full potential of every student," Hien added.

On the other hand, many parents have expressed worries that soft comments may not be accurate. In response to the public criticism, Hien said that all new rules always cause controversy. He said that the current system is the reason for parents making their children take extra classes or pushing them to learn ahead of their curriculum.

He went on to say that students could be discouraged by marks that are not 100% accurate and be a discouragement in the learning environment.

The ministry now plans to issue rules of guidance for teachers. Students will be given comments on both academic results and extracurricular activities. In addition, students would be able to review themselves and give comments to their classmates.

Hien went on say that a pilot programme conducted in certain schools that have shown good results. Year-end tests would still be given marks, but teachers would now be restricted from grading a zero. In the end, Hien said, "These tests will no longer hold such a preeminent role in the educational lives of students."

Endangered turtle released to the sea

Local authorities in Thanh Hoa Province have just released a rare sea turtle caught by fishermen back into its natural environment.

The Department of Capture Fisheries and Fisheries Resources Protection, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, local authorities and fishermen went to the sea together on the occasion of the release.

Le Ngoc Sung, a fisherman from Hai Ninh Commune, found the turtle caught up in his net. Sung brought the turtle to the shore and took care of it with the help of neighbors. They reported the catch to Hai Ninh Commune People's Committee and other relevant agencies.

The turtle is 1 metre long and weighs 70kg. According to the authorities, this turtle is known as the green sea turtle, or Chelonia mydas, an endangered species that has been listed in Vietnam Red Book and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is against the law to hunt them or knowingly damage, destroy, transport or trade these turtles or their eggs.

The turtle was reported to be in good health upon his release.

Tragic accident sparks debate over sleeping buses

Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has proposed that sleeping-chair buses be banned from travelling on mountainous routes to prevent the recurrence of an incident similar to that which happened in Lao Cai recently.

After the tragic accident on September 1, which killed 12 and injured at least 41; Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang called a meeting to request relevant authorities to scruntinise all regulations concerning sleeping-chair buses.

Statistics provided by the Vietnam Register (VR) showed that the country now has over 4,500 sleeping-chair buses in operation, including 859 that have been upgraded from normal buses, and 80 others imported from China.  Upon the request by the minister, the VR has banned buses that have been upgraded to sleeping-chair buses beginning in April.

According to the VR, from January 2013, the country reported 22 traffic accidents related to double-deck sleeping-chair buses, the majority of which happened at night or the early morning. Around a third of these were deemed to have been due to rough terrain or limited visibility.

Thang emphasised that the number of these traffic accidents is unacceptable.

“The accident that happened on the first of September in Lao Cai Province was a result of ineffective enforcement of regulations on sleeping-chair buses. I firmly believe that sleeping-chair buses should be banned from traveling on curved mountainous roads,” he noted.

He also emphasised the necessity for an investigation to clarify whether it happened due to technical problems or substandard roads.

Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, proposed that, not only sleeping-chair buses, but also other passenger vehicles should be scrutinised for their ability to travel over these types of roads.

“What we must do is to work out a safe and convenient travelling map for these sleeping-chair buses. We must also stipulate banned routes to ensure the safety of passengers," said Deputy Minister of Transport Le Dinh Tho.

In Tho's opinion, September 1 accident could have been avoided if the bus were not travelling on narrow, curvy roads and did not attempt to pick up extra passengers.

Luu Viet Anh, deputy director of Tuyen Quang provincial Department of Transport, said that there should be regulations in place that stipulate separated routes for sleeping-chair buses. “

These proposals have been added to a draft circular to be submitted to the minister of transport for approval in early September.

Ministry shares experience in new health planning, budgeting model

Officials from the Ministry of Health and four provinces where a pilot programme on capacity building for health planning and budgeting are sharing their experiences with other provinces at a two-day workshop that opened in Da Nang on September 5.

Organised with support from the EU, the workshop seeks to assist hospitals in using planning templates and an operations manual issued by the ministry this year to strengthen capacity for annual health planning and budgeting at the central and provincial levels.

They were developed by the ministry with support from the EU's Health Sector Capacity Support Project (HSCSP).

A health official from Bac Ninh, one of the four provinces that piloted the programme – along with Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa, and Yen Bai -- said his province used the new templates for the 2014 health plan.

"With the new method, health planning is results oriented, with full analysis of risks and assumptions for implementing the plan while the issue of monitoring and evaluation is clearly and comprehensively defined," he said.

Hoang Kim Ha, head of policy at the ministry's Planning and Financial Department, said: "The planning templates will help health planning to be carried out in a uniform manner throughout the country.

"It will also help define clearly what tasks should be resolved by the locality with Ministry of Health guidance and what tasks should be handled by the locality itself.

"The new tools will, step by step, indentify the responsibility of each and every level in the health system in providing health care and protection for the people.

"The application by all provinces of these planning templates will facilitate and speed up the bottoms-up approach in health planning and projections through the use of information technology.

"This will help improve efficiency in planning, statistics, reporting, monitoring, and supervision of the health planning implementation process."

All provinces in the country will join the programme by 2020.

Deputy PM lauds UNODC’s help to HIV, drug control

The United Nations Office for Drug and Crime (UNODC) in Vietnam has provided importance assistance to the country’s drug and HIV prevention and control efforts, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told the UNODC Country Manager on September 5.

Deputy PM Phuc also thanked the UNODC Country Manager, Zhuldyz Akisheva, for her contribution to Vietnam during her tenure as leader of the office, particularly in offering ideas for the making of policies, laws and international reports in the field as well as in rolling out anti-drug activities.

He singled out UNODC’s financial and technical assistance for a project to combine treatment and caring services for drug addicts in some localities.

He also expressed hope that in her new position, Akisheva will continue helping Vietnam in the field.

Akisheva said UNODC has been pursuing the target of enhancing the capacity of drug prevention and control forces in investigating and combating drug trafficking and abusing.

Another important mission of the office is to improve legal framework for better controlling drug and related crimes, and reduce demand for drug through education while minimising social and health consequences left by drug and HIV/AIDS.

She pledged to continue her efforts to foster partnership between the UNODC and Vietnam in the future.

Programme addressing stinted growth and malnutrition launched

The Ministry of Health, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Training, Vietnam Television and TH True Milk JSC, held a ceremony in Hanoi on September 4 to launch a nutritional programme promoting healthy child growth.

Addressing the event, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)’s Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan acknowledged that today’s 12 million children will become the masters of the country in the next decades.

He urged milk companies, social organisations and donors to provide free milk for poor children, adding studies have shown that 600,000 children do not have access to milk.

According to the Ministry of Health, the calcium in milk is an essential nutrient that contributes greatly to healthy physical growth and brain development, especially in children.

This programme is part of a master plan to promote healthy child development and eradicate stinted growth in Vietnam in the 2011-2030 period. It aims to tackle Vietnam’s long-standing malnutrition problem.

Also at the ceremony, VFF President Nhan symbolically presented 1 million glasses of milk to Ministry of Education and Training representatives in order to deliver them to children in poor and island districts.

Sleeper buses may be banned on passes

After the deadly traffic accident in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai earlier this month, the Ministry of Transport is considering banning sleeper buses from winding and steep roads in hilly and mountainous areas.

According to the ministry’s office, Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang said at a meeting on Wednesday that sleeper buses should be prohibited from such roads as such vehicles can easily overturn.

Thang insisted the existence of strict regulations on this issue as he assumed that sleeper buses are not appropriate for running on such roads in terms of technical standards.

Currently, the ministry is revising decrees 91 and 93 on transport business requirements. Thang told relevant agencies to weigh and soon impose the ban on sleeper buses on hilly terrains.

Besides, passenger vehicles will not be allowed to transport cargo, except 20 kilograms of luggage belonging to each of the passengers on board.

According to Vietnam Register, there were 22 traffic accidents recorded for sleeper buses last year and 86% of these occurred between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. and 30% took place in mountainous areas.

The tragic accident on Monday in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai killed 12 passengers and injured 41 others when the coach fell off a mountainside.

Tran Ky Hinh, head of Vietnam Register, said the department will tighten registration requirements, including those related to the number of beds and exits.

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrated in UK, India, Switzerland

Vietnamese children living in India, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland took part in a variety of cultural activities and folk games when the traditional Full-Moon Festival was jubilantly celebrated last weekend.

The Vietnamese Embassy in India hosted a celebration at Nerhu Park in capital New Delhi where children participated in folk games such as jump robe, ball throwing, and tug of war.

The children also enjoyed traditional dishes and gifts presented by Minister Counsellor of the Vietnamese Embassy Tran Quang Tuyen.

The Overseas Vietnamese Association in the UK held a mid-autumn festival for children at Ao Ba Ba Restaurant in Hackney Boroughs, aiming to strengthen exchange between youths and help younger generations preserve their cultural identity.

The event offered the children a chance to wear the traditional long dress (Ao Dai), play folk games and hear their teachers tell stories about the origin of the festival in Vietnamese and English languages.

Previously, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN and foreign organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, also held a full-moon celebtation in a cozy atmosphere.

Overseas Vietnamese sponsor charity run in UK

VietPro, a social organization for Vietnamese professionals living in the UK, recently organised a charity run at Southwark Park in London to raise funds for HIV positive children.

Under the theme “Crayon Run”, the event attracted over 80 Vietnamese and British athletes, who donated 15 pounds per person.

The proceeds will go to the Amazin Le Thi Foundation and CHIVA (The Children's HIV Association), to support children living with HIV.

Vietpro President Nguyen Huu Phuong Thao said the 5-km run provided processionals and youth an excellent opportunity to join hands to raise money for a worthy cause.

Truong Son war veterans hold exchange with OVs in Laos

Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) residing in the Xiang Khouang province of Laos on September 7 held an exchange with volunteer Vietnamese soldiers at the immortal battlefield of Truong Son.

At the exchange, Tran Hanh, Vice Chairman of the OVs Association in Laos, , said many Vietnamese nationals are residing in Xiang Khouang, a revolutionary base in Laos where many volunteer Vietnamese soldiers laid down their lives for Laos’ national independence.

Ten of them have been conferred the War Martyr Hero title by the Lao State, Hanh reminded those in attendance.

Colonel Dang Cong Huynh from former Truong Son war veterans association in turn expressed gratitude for Lao people and OVs in Xiang Khouang for their invaluable support during the past war in Vietnam.

He said former Truong Son combatants have constructed1,300 compassionate houses for social policy beneficiaries and provided over400 scholarships for underprivileged children.

At present, they are coordinating with relevant agencies to compile a dossier for the Ho Chi Minh Trail to seek recognition as a special national heritage.

Vietnamese children celebrate full-moon fest in Singapore

Children of Vietnamese families in Singapore gathered at the Vietnamese Embassy headquarters on September 6, jubilantly celebrating the annual Mid-Autumn festival.

They took part in folk games such as jump robe, ball throwing, and tug of war, unicorn dance, fashion show and a singing contest.

This was the first time the Liaison Boards of the Vietnamese Community in Singapore had organised such event, creating a useful playground for Vietnamese children to preserve traditional culture and strengthen unity within the community.

There are approximately 12,000 Vietnamese nationals residing in Singapore. Many of them marry Singaporeans and their children cannot speak or speak very little Vietnamese. They do not have the chance to explore Vietnam and its folk games.

The event offered the children a chance to wear the traditional long dress (Ao Dai), play folk games, sing Vietnamese songs and hear their parents tell stories about their childhood in the homeland, said organising board.

Gala night promotes Vietnam culture in Australia

Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) students studying in New South Wales on September 6 held an annual gala night themed “Beauty and Talent 2014” at the Wesley Mission Theatre in Sydney.

At the event, OV students from a number of universities in Australia demonstrated their pride and love for their country through traditional song and dance performances.

The highlight of the evening was the final stage of the Miss University beauty pageant. Ten outstanding contestants competed in the event, aiming to represent the OVs students in New South Wales.

The winner of the competition was Tran Quy Thu from Australian Catholic University.

Australia is one of the countries attracting the largest number of OVs students with more than 17,500. They are mainly studying in the two states of Victoria and New South Wales.

Every year, Vietnamese Students Associations in the two states organize various activities to help the students improve their spiritual lives and turn their hearts to the homeland.

Cao Dai followers cerebrate grand ritual

Tens of thousands of Cao Dai followers and visitors nationwide flocked to the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Church in Hoa Thanh district, southern Tay Ninh province on September 8 for the sect’s grand ritual, “Hoi Yen Dieu Tri Cung”.

“Hoi Yen Dieu Tri Cung” is a great religious banquet for the Great Mother and nine female immortals of the Dieu Tri Palace (Jasper Pond Palace) held annually on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. Cao Dai followers believe the banquet implies a practice that enables them to achieve their goal of liberating themselves from the cycle of birth and death.

During this year’s event, which saw the presence of representatives from the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and local authorities, Cao Dai followers displayed over 90 trays of fruit and food at the Temple of the Great Mother to pray for favourable weather, a peaceful and prosperous country and happy people.

Speaking at the event, Monsignor Thuong Tam Thanh, head of the Sacerdotal Council of the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Church, called on Cao Dai dignitaries and followers to actively join in charitable and social activities, practise faith and make contributions to the national development.-

Overseas Vietnamese in UK hold charity run for children with HIV

VietPro, an organisation of Vietnamese working in the UK, organized a charity run at Southwark Park in London on September 7 to raise funds for children with HIV.

The event attracted more than 80 runners including both Vietnamese and British.

All proceedings would be donated to Amazin Le Thi Foundation and CHIVA (The Children’s HIV Association), to buy gifts in the form of crayon packs for children with HIV, which is also the reason why the run is named Crayon Run.

According to Nguyen Huu Phuong Thao, VietPro President, the event was the first community-oriented sport activity hosted by the organisation.

Thao also expressed hope that it would become an annual activity in the long run.

Contest promotes Vietnam-Israel technology links

A competition to support scientific-technological start-ups in Vietnam was launched at a ceremony held in Hanoi on September 8.

Jointly organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Israeli Embassy, the competition for young entrepreneurs working in the fields of mobile communications, web design, agriculture and life science is expected to help the contestants learn from Israel’s experiences.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung underlined the significance of the Party and State’s policies in promoting the development of science-technology and improving the competitiveness of enterprises as well as the economy.

He revealed that the sector hopes to see the establishment of 3,000 sci-tech enterprises by 2015.

Israeli Ambassador Meirav Eilon Shahar shared her country’s experiences in developing sci-tech firms with Vietnam.

She said she hopes the contest would forge links between young Vietnamese and Israeli businesses.

The Thua Thien-Hue provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has outlined a raft of tax cuts and other stimulus measures as part of efforts to shore up tourism, which include ramping up its marketing and advertising programmes.

The agency aims to boost tourism promotion activities at a number of fairs in Vietnam and overseas in an attempt to enhance the province’s image as a safe, economical and hospitable tourist destination.

From August 2014 to late 2015, Thua Thien - Hue is also planning to carry out a sustainable tourism project, with US$230,000 of support from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNESCO.

The project has several components including developing Thanh Toan village as an eco-tourism destination, popularising the Ho Chi Minh Highway connecting A Luoi with west mountainous Quang Nam province, and promoting the province’s allure as a dynamic business centre and tourist paradise.

The province has also signed an agreement with Bac Lieu province to conduct a joint survey to utilise as a basis for formulating improved tours more responsive to tourist demands.

In late August, it coordinated with Famtrip to survey a number of tourism venues in Can Tho, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau in the Southwestern region. For the rest of the year, it is planning to invite other Famtrip delegations from Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Thailand to survey the locality as well.

The province is also organizing a significant number of tourism promotion conferences in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and central region.

Thua Thien-Hue targets 2.8 to 3 million arrivals in 2014, including 1.2-1.3 international visitors, to increase tourism revenue by 16%-18%, contributing 54%-55% to the province’s GDP.

Boss of sex ring, disguised as massage centers, gets 12 years in jail

A Vietnam court has sentenced 41-year-old Phan Cao Tri, the boss of Tan Hoang Phat, a sex trade ring that operated under the cover of a massage center in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, to 12 years in jail.

Tri was charged with “illegal arrest, custody or detention of people,” and “extortion of property,” the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court said on Friday.

Of Tri’s five accomplices, Phan Viet Hau, 29, and Phan Quoc Cuong, 37, were sentenced to 10 and nine years in jail on the same charges as Tri.

Tri’s wife, Phan Thi Yen, got four years for extortion of property, while the two others, Nguyen Minh Phuong, 40, and Nguyen Hoai Nhanh, 29, were sentenced to three years and one year, respectively, for illegal arrest, custody or detention of people.

According to the latest investigation results, the sex ring illegally detained 73 women who worked as masseuses for the “massage centers”.

According to the indictment, Tri and his staff recruited women as masseuses for five parlors in Ho Chi Minh City and the neighboring provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong beginning in 2005.

These women, who mainly came from rural areas, were forced to not only give massages, but also perform sexual acts on customers for up to 16 hours per day, usually from 9 am to 1 am.

If a guest complained about any of the women, the worker would be beaten or fined.

During the non-work hours, they were kept at Tri’s home, where he arranged guards to keep watch on them to prevent them from escaping.

The women had to sign a commitment that they would take only one leave for every six months of work, and that any breach of this regulation would be subject to a fine of VND24 million (US$1,133).

Anyone who wanted to quit had to pay VND15 million ($708). Some, who could not afford the money, attempted to run away, but were captured and beaten.

Anyone who refused to follow orders, or if a customer complained, would be beaten up or locked up without food in dog cages.

Unable to endure these sufferings, some fled and then reported their stories to the police. On December 6, 2008, the city Police raided Tan Hoang Phat and rescued 65 masseuses.

Vietnam inmate updates Facebook from cell

A Vietnamese prisoner was able to freely update his Facebook page with statuses and photos from his jail cell, and is now facing punishment, police said Friday.

Nguyen Van Ninh, deputy head of the General Department of Criminal Verdict Execution and Justice Assistance, under the Ministry of Public Security, on Friday told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that Nguyen Duc Hung, a prisoner at Tan Lap Prison in the northern province of Phu Tho, published personal images on Facebook.

The confirmation came after people noticed the images posted on the social network by a prisoner.

A Facebook user named Nguyen Duc Hung posted many pictures of prisoners and daily activities in prison, including prisoners talking on the phone or eating and drinking in the cells.

There were also images of tattoos and a substance that was confirmed to be opium on Hung’s account.

After investigation, concerned agencies confirmed that Nguyen Duc Hung used phones illegally while in prison, Ninh said, adding that competent agencies will take disciplinary actions against him.

Other investigators are working to clarify why these images were still on Facebook in early September, the official said.

Recently, the Phu Tho Province Police’s investigation agency indicted 51 defendants, who were the prisoners at the same prison, for colluding to trade drugs in the facility.

The case will be tried by the end of the year, the provincial police said.

During several recent examinations, police also seized 30 mobile phones, 15 SIM cards, 188 razor blades, and 11 used syringes and injection needles in Zone 1 of the prison alone.

Another incident took place at the same prison in late 2013, when police found a number of prisoners illegally gambling on lottery.

Vietnam consumers drink more at home than outside: report

Consumers in Vietnam’s four biggest cities have been spending less time drinking at outside cafés or restaurants and opting for more in-home consumption of beverages, market researcher Kantar Worldpanel said in a report released Friday.

In-home consumption of beverages in terms of value grew compared with the same period last year, according to Kantar Worldpanel’s observation over a 12-week period ending July 13.

“Indeed, consumers are opting for more drinking occasions at home rather than outside,” Kantar Worldpanel, formerly known as TNS Worldpanel, said in its latest FMCG Monitor report.

FMCG, or fast-moving consumer goods, are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost.

The UK-based market researcher tracked drink usage behaviors of individual consumers in Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho and found a year-on-year growth of 3.9 percent in in-home drinking occasions, while out-of-home occasions remain stagnant.

Noticeably, consumers are less likely to buy drinks at more costly places such as coffee shops and restaurants, as drinking occasions at these locations shrunk by 12 percent and 3 percent, respectively, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.

“It is interesting to notice the most declining items consumed out of home, such as instant coffee, tonic drinks and energy drinks, are holding the highest ranks among the top growing items in-home, in terms of drinking occasions,” the report reads.

Kantar Worldpanel said the report findings reflect “a switching trend in which people will take these kinds of drinks at home rather than spending on them elsewhere outside,” in a bid to cope with downward pressure from the current economic situation.

“There is little doubt that consumers, especially lower income groups, will continue to look at ways to better manage their expenditure,” Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam general manager David Anjoubault commented, adding that switching to drinking at home more frequently “ is just one among those reactions.”

“Being able to understand and capture these shifting needs will create new space for manufacturers to further develop their categories, even under the current downward pressure,” Anjoubault said.

The latest FMCG Monitor report also shows different pictures across urban and rural areas in Vietnam.

FMCG consumption in urban areas continues to suffer from stagnant growth since early this year, with growth leveling off at 5 percent in value and 2 percent in volume, the report said.

In the meantime, the rural market is stabilizing its growth at 11 percent in value and 8 percent in volume.

VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND