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Safety restored in Ho Chi Minh City areas once plagued by junkies

Safety restored in Ho Chi Minh City areas once plagued by junkies

Monday, January 12, 2015, 22:29 GMT+7

Ho Chi Minh City has restored safety and security in public places after over a month of gathering homeless drug addicts into three state-run rehabilitation centers for compulsory treatment and stopping their fits of addiction.

The rehabilitation centers had been closed for a year after allegations of human rights violations.

The legality of the centers was strengthened after the definition of ‘compulsory drug detoxification’ was modified to ‘compulsory treatment.’

In reality, the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS is not small in the community of drug addicts, many of whom have a low educational level.

Others often display their fits of addiction in public places, threatening the safety of people.

In addition, 70 percent of crimes such as bag snatching, pickpocketing, and theft are related to drug addicts.

Almost everyone applauds the gathering of homeless junkies into rehabilitation centers because it has helped restore safety and security and prevent theft and bad snatching.

Tran Cong Du, head of the crime prevention unit under the Department of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City, said the city has wiped out ‘black points’ where addicts gather to inject drugs in parks, bus stations, and on sidewalks.

Addicts are now rarely seen at the An Suong and Nga Tu Ga bus stations, which were once their ‘homeland.’

District 8, which was once the ‘drug trading point’ of addicts, has been relieved of its burden.

Nguyen Thi Mai, the owner of an instant noodle shop near the An Suong bus station in Hoc Mon District, said that, “The troubles caused by drug addicts have reduced by eight of the ten parts.

“Before, they sat in crowds along this street to inject drugs. Injection needles were thrown everywhere, causing more risks for infected diseases for others.

“Junkies could steal from locals any time. But it’s fine now.”

Pham Thi Lan, a soft drinks seller at 23/9 Park in District 1, said addicts seldom frequent this park now, so theft and snatching have considerably decreased.

A report shows that nearly 1,700 homeless drug addicts have been identified in the city to wait for the decisions of local courts to send them to rehabilitation centers for compulsory detoxification.

Those who have residences in the city and are eligible for recovery are guided to take part in ‘community detoxification programs,’ which are voluntary.

It is estimated that Ho Chi Minh City has 30,000 drug addicts, with many of them coming from other provinces and cities.

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