The illegal parts an imposing villa belonging to a senior Vietnamese policeman, who is under arrest for being involved in a gambling ring, are being stripped down following an order from local authorities.

A group of construction workers were removing the walls on the top floor of the residence of Nguyen Thanh Hoa, the former head of a hi-tech division under Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, which were previously built against the law, as of Monday evening.

Several inspectors from local authorities were then supervising the process.

The five-story villa is located within the Phung Khoang residential area in Trung Van Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi.

In late September 2017, Dang Quoc Hung, vice-chairman of the Trung Van People’ Committee, led a delegation of inspectors to examine the residence.

The officials discovered that Hoa’s family had built three walls on the top floor, which was against regulations.

The walls, 2.7 meters tall and 18 meters long, were designed to decorate the house.

The team of inspectors then required the house owners to remove the illegal parts within 15 days.

As the family failed to comply with the order, competent authorities had to forcefully carry out the process on Monday.

The house is located within the Phung Khoang residential area in Trung Van Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi. Photo: Tuoi Tre

A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said that authorities in Trung Van Ward have detected another violation at Hoa’s house, which is expected to be dealt with in the coming time.

The family was also said to have failed to pay up the cost for installing the house’s wooden doors.

Hoa was arrested by the Department of Police in the northern province of Phu Tho on Sunday and is to be held in custody for four months to assist the investigation into his participation in an online gambling ring.

The official, who was previously a major general and head of the hi-tech crime prevention division under the Ministry of Public Security, also had his ‘People’s Police’ rank removed by the state president on the same day.

Phu Tho police broke up the illegal ring in September 2017 and have initiated legal proceedings against more than 70 suspects implicated in the case.

They have so far confiscated more than VND1.3 trillion ($57.2 million), while the amount of foreign currency which was sent overseas via the gambling activities was estimated at $3.6 million.

The villa is five-story tall. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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