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News Around Binh Thuan Province

30.08.06 According to Vietnam Net Bridge, The Binh Thuan Province Seafood Department recently conducted a surprise inspection of local seafood processing plants. They found that 13% of samples taken at a variety of locations contained antibiotic residues. The most contaminated products were dried cuttlefish, fresh cuttlefish and frozen octopus. The offending plants may have their operation licenses revoked or face legal prosecution.

- According to the Saigon Times, a French guest and a Vietnamese staff member of Novotel Hotel in Phan Thiet were accidentally electrocuted in a freak accident last week. Our sincerest condolences and sympothies to the Hotel, staff and familes of the two men.

- According to Saigon Times, as many as 178 inmates of Thu Duc prison in Ham Tan (South of Phan Thiet), including four foreign prisoners, are set to be released for the 61st anniversary of National Day on September 2.

- Floods have killed as many as 8 local residents this month around the province, in seasonal flooding.

Sanitation to Improve in Central Binh Thuan

04.08.06 Vietnam and Belgium signed an agreement in Hanoi today for a US$5.5 million project funded by Belgium to improve sanitation and protect the environment in central Binh Thuan.

The three-year project, for which Vietnam will contribute US$704,000, will provide safe water in Phan Ri Cua, and improve drainage and wastewater treatment in Lien Huong. It will also help improve management of solid and medical wastes and raise environmental awareness.

The location is NorthEast of Phan Thiet. Phan Ri Cua is one of three important fishing ports in the province (along with Phan Thiet and La Gi to the south).

Binh Thuan Leaders Disciplined

13.07.06 Nineteen Communist Party members from Binh Thuan province have been disciplined for failing to prevent and fight crime. Some of them even alegedly sheltered the notorious, local criminal gang known as "Apricot Hill". The gang's leader, Nguyen Thanh Guong ("Hai Chi"), was arrested in 2005 for a number of crimes, including murder, gambling and robbery.

More than 3,000 members of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 22 localities in the South have been disciplined in the first half of this year. The party currently has 3.1 million members.

Source: People's Daily Online

Blowfish Sends 16 to Hospital

30.06.06. Sixteen people were hospitalized, including a nine-year-old that died after eating a pufferfish yesterday in Ham Thuan Bac. The group exhibited nausea and fainting at the province’s general hospital. Three were later released but twelve still remain in the hospital. The fish are often eaten in the area, with frequent reports of illness or even death as a result. A single fish contains enough toxin in it's eyes, internal organs and skin to kill up to 30 people. The muscle tissue however, contains little or no toxin, and is considered a delicacy in countries like Japan. If not prepared carefully eating the fish can have lethal results.

Flooding Destroys More Homes

22.05.06 Forty-seven houses were swept away in two days of flooding at Phuoc Loc Ward last week. This is the second year in a row that flooding has destroyed numerous homes in the area. The local effects of dry and rainy season have been polarizing in the last decade, with extreme drought during the dry season and devastating erosion in the wet season.

Free Medical Services
for White Sand Dunes Residents

02.05.06 Thanh Nien News Agency reported that it worked with An Phuoc General Hospital and Mai Linh Taxi to provide free medical examinations for the poor in Phan Thiet to mark Vietnam’s Liberation Day, April 30.

Doctors from the hospital in Phan Thiet reportedly examined nearly 200 people from Hong Phong commune (near the White Sand Dunes) and provided them free medicines worth some VND25 million (US$1,568). Most residents in the commune, a revolutionary base during the war, suffer from drought.

Thai Fisherman Rescued in Phan Thiet Bay

11.02.05 Vietnamese fishermen rescued a Thai fisherman who survived floating at sea for three days. The Binh Thuan border-gate station management board in Ham Tan District handed over Lammun Khunphuan, to the Thailand consolate in Ho Chi Minh City on February 8. The owner of the Vietnamese boat which found him said his staff pulled the man from the sea on January 18, finding him in ragged clothes and clinging to life. Lammun Khunphuan was part of a 10-member crew of a shrimp-fishing boat that left Pak Phanang port in Song Khla province, Thailand on January 13. Reports differ on how he came to fall overboard.

Authorities Apologize for Wrongful Imprisonment

22.01.06 Law enforcement and judicial agencies in Binh Thuan province officially apologized Friday to a family who were wrongfully imprisoned for several years. The provincial People’s Procuracy, the prosecutor’s office, People’s Court, and police jointly held a public meeting to express regret to Nguyen Thi Lam and her family: Nguyen Van Son, Nguyen Van Tien (sons), Nguyen Thi Tien (daughter), and Huynh Van Nen (son-in-law) , who were formerly accused of killing Nguyen Thi My at a cashew nut plantation in Tan Minh town, Ham Tan District in 1993. The agencies will soon negotiate with Lam and her family regarding the amount of financial compensation. They were each sentenced from five to 10 years in prison. The family appealed several times but it took a recent judicial review to completely clear their names.

Eight Foreign Crew Members Rescued

23.12.05. All eight crew members of the Belize ship Ocean Star were rescued 38 nautical miles off Phu Quy Island, Binh Thuan province, on December 22. After receiving an SOS signal, the Joint Search and Rescue Centre No. 3 broadcast the information and coordinated with the coast guard to search for the vessel. The sailors were saved by the ship Sima Pride from Singapore. The crew was then transferred to the centre for repatriation.