Reporter Thu Uyen, producer and MC of a well-loved TV reality show that traces and reunites lost family members, recently apologized to viewers for the show’s two mistakes in 2008 in which it found the wrong relatives.

The producer maintained that the program “Nhu chua he co cuoc chia ly” (As if there were no parting) on VTV1 channel made the two mistakes in its first year by accident and they are by no means purposeful riggings to earn views.

In recent times, a number of social network pages have harshly criticized the program producer for committing the blunders and finding the wrong persons, accusing the program of knowingly reuniting unrelated people.

The two wrong reunions were those conducted in February and October 2008. In the first case, Nguyen Huu Thanh was given away since young by his mother, probably named Le Thi Ut. The show producer managed to find a woman who fit Thanh’s description. With the local police’s and neighbors’ evidence, the show arranged a deeply moving meeting in February 2008 for the mother and son. Back then the producer didn’t get access to DNA testing.

In early 2011, a DNA test on Thanh’s request proved no biological relation between Thanh and the woman.

Regarding the second case, colonel Dinh Huu Tan requested the producer to search for Vo Van Phuoc, whom he adopted in April 1975. The show’s painstaking search revealed a young man named Long, who bears striking resemblance to Phuoc in outside appearance and family background. The colonel and Long met in tears in the Oct 2008 show.

But in mid 2011, the program’s search team realized there was a mistake. They restarted the search and eventually managed to find the real adopted son.

“The blunders were mostly technological as in our first year, we lacked necessary technology, including DNA testing for precise verification. But we informed the involved persons as soon as we detected our mistakes and our sincere apologies to them were accepted. There was certainly no such thing as fabrication or rigging to cheat TV viewers,” reporter Uyen confirmed.

She added that the program has since adopted new procedures to make sure no such blunders will happen again.

After six years in operation, the “Nhu chua he co cuoc chia ly”, launched by Vietnam Television Center in Ho Chi Minh City and assisted by several other organizations, has received 70,000 search requests and made 399 reunions. No fees are charged on any side and the show organizer has also provided accommodation and transport to people involved and called for donations to help needy ones.

In its coming show, set to air live on VTV1 on the evening of Dec 14, the show will broadcast a documentary explaining the blunders in detail, featuring opinions and sympathy from the family members involved.