After days of investigation, police in southern Long An Province yesterday concluded that the director of the provincial Television and Broadcasting Station had killed himself over his family’s affairs. At 11 am Tuesday, 59-year-old Phan Thanh Van was found hanging dead in his house on Chau Van Giac Street (not Bao Dinh as earlier reported), in Ward 2 of Tan An City. Van was expected to retire in mid-2013.

The results of examination of the scene and the autopsy made on Van’s body have helped investigators come to a conclusion that he had killed himself with a rope, police said. Van died of asphyxiation due to hanging, forensic medical experts confirmed. Investigations also revealed that Van had committed to suicide over his family’s problems. Van’s relatives also told investigators that he had been depressed over family’s issues and lost a lot of weight before his death. Phan Thi Kieu Giang, Van’s daughter, has been arrested and prosecuted on charges of “abusing trust to appropriate assets,” provincial police said. According to the case file, Giang failed to pay debts of about VND750 million (US$36,000) to three local people and Van had to pay the amount to the creditors. Giang was hired onto the station by his father after she quit her job at a digital information company whose branch is located in Long An.