The Chinese Ministry of Public Security has begun looking into a case in which a Vietnamese businesswoman died allegedly of poisoning in mainland China in September, authorities in the hometown of the deceased said Friday.

The ministry will take over the investigation from police in the Chinese province of Guangzhou, according to the Department of External Relations in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

The certificate of death of Ha Thuy Linh was also handed to the her family in Vietnam, 45 days after the 45-year-old was discovered dead in China, in order to finish necessary legal procedures for the investigation.

The body of the deceased businesswoman cannot be repatriated as Chinese authorities will re-perform an autopsy, said Ha My Chau, the victim’s sister.

It is still unclear when Linh’s body could be returned, Chau added.

“Relevant authorities in China asked me many questions about the personal life of my sister, but I could not provide much information,” Chau said.

The family has asked Chinese authorities to speed up the post-mortem examination and return the body to the family for funeral rituals, according to Chau.

However, the request was refused as Chinese authorities consider the case to be complicated and require forensic consultation, meaning the repatriation cannot be approved as it will affect investigation.

Ha Thuy Linh, who was director of Lam Dong-based Ha Linh O Long Tea Company, was found dead three days after she arrived in Guangzhou on September 19 on a business trip.

The company is famous for its tea exports to Taiwan and mainland China, which accounts for 60 percent of its total output.

Linh founded her firm in 2008 after she divorced her Taiwanese husband, who had established Haiyih Tea Company, where the woman was a vice director.

On 2014, her ex-husband return to Vietnam and demanded the claim of the business brand ownership.

Repatriation process in Vietnam

The process to return the body of Vietnamese nationals who died overseas is quite simple, according to some major insurance companies.

When an insured Vietnamese encounter an accident or suffer injuries or death, the repatriation of their body is usually covered within the shortest possible time, they told Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspapers.

In a similar case, the victim’s body was returned to Vietnam after 24 hours of the accident as the cause of death was quickly identified and was covered by their travel insurance.

Depending on the family’s wishes, the body of the victims can be transported by air or cremated at the country of accident, and the ashes will be handed back to family members.

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