Police in Do Son District, Hai Phong City, northern Vietnam on Saturday said that they were investigating a case in which a group of people called 'Black Roses' took blood samples from over 400 students for unknown purposes and without local authorities’ permission.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Dang The Dung, head of the Do Son District police, said the group of people failed to show a license for their act.

On Friday, many parents in Hai Son Ward, Do Son District reported that the group of five to six people rented a house in the ward to take students’ blood samples for unknown purposes and without asking for the opinions of parents or schools.

They gave VND100,000 (US$4.2) to each of the students whose blood samples were taken and VND25,000 ($1) to each of those introducing new students to them.

Right after receiving the news, the People’s Committee of Hai Son Ward established a working team which later found that these people are members of the 'Black Roses' group led by Dinh Thi Ut, 52, residing in Hai Son Ward.

Ut claimed her group, which belongs to a non-governmental organization, was set up to provide information and advice about reproductive health for people aged between 16 and 24 and prevent HIV/AIDS transmission among drug addicts.

The group has taken blood samples from over 400 students, mainly those of middle schools in Kien Thuy, Duong Kinh, and Do Son Districts.

The parents of a student having his blood sample taken raised their concerns over the group’s suspicious act. Those directly collecting blood samples from the students were not medical workers either.

“No one bans them from popularizing knowledge about HIV/AIDS prevention but they must secure specialized agencies’ permission and supervision to take blood samples," the parents said.

“We're not sure what would happen and if our children could catch diseases from such spontaneous activity if we did not detect it promptly.”

Luu Dinh Dung, chairman of the People’s Committee of Hai Son Ward, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the ‘Black Roses’ group failed to show legal documents for their act.

The ward’s working team asked the group to halt its operations and provide legal documents, the official informed.

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