The former Communist Party Secretary of southern Dong Thap Province’s Hong Ngu District has been indicted for wrongdoings related to sand exploitation on the Tien River that caused damage of US$432,700.  The official in question - Nguyen Hong Lam – and his former deputy Ngo Xuan Canh, have been charged with “violating regulations on natural resources exploitation”, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Thai Thi My Trang, chief of the provincial Police Department’s Secretariat.

In addition, Duong Trung Kinh, former head of the district Natural Resources and Environment Department, has also been charged with “being irresponsible and causing serious consequences,” Trang said. All the three have been let out on bail and are banned from leaving their residence. Lam has been removed from his Party secretary position but he is still a member of the provincial Party Committee, and a removal from such membership will be subject to a decision from the Party Central Committee’s Commission of Inspection. According to the case file, Lam and Canh had allowed Ngu Binh Co Ltd, which is licensed to exploit sand, to collect money from illegal sand exploiters. Kinh knew that the money collection was wrong but he still ignored it, enabling Ngu Binh to set up a network to exploit sand illegally. Uncontrolled exploitation by Ngu Binh and other businesses has caused a total damage of VND9 billion ($432,700) to the State budget. Lam told police that “Ngu Binh handed in VND850 million ($40,860) per year to the district Party Committee”. After the case was discovered, Ngu Binh was forced to stop operation in October 2012 pending investigation, police said. In November 2012, provincial police arrested and jailed six people involved in the case. The police also said it uncovered 56 illegal sand exploitation cases on the river last year.