Village bans motorbikes on holidays

Elders in A Xan Commune in central Quảng Nam Province’s Tây Giang District have decided to confiscate all motorbike keys during holidays such as Tết (Lunar New Year) due to the dangers of drunken drivers.

Pơ Loong Đội, chief of A Xan Commune’s A Rang 1 village, said in the past elders went to each household in the village to collect keys. But now they wait in front of Guol House - a place for administrative works and cultural activities of the Cơ Tu ethnic minority – where villagers hand over keys.

“There is a wedding in the village tomorrow. I’m sure that everyone will drink wine at the wedding so collecting motorbikes keys is the best way to prevent accidents,” Đội was quoted by Vnexpress online newspaper as saying.

Five years ago, after local roads were paved with concrete and local residents became well-off, they started buying motorbikes, he said.

Since then many children in the villages died in traffic accidents. Drunk drivers on small, winding roads were blamed for many of the deaths.

Accidents often occurred on holidays so it took a long time to settle the incidents, Độ recalled.

The village head and elders tried to convince youths not to drive motorbikes while drunk and follow traffic regulations but their please fell on deaf ears. Village elders then decided to supplement a ban on driving motorbikes during holidays in the village regulations.

Now, a day before a wedding or a holiday, village elders and the chief go to each household to collect keys, which can be collected the following day after the villagers sober up..

“Exceptions will be allowed only in emergency cases such as transporting someone to the hospital,” said Pơ Loong Jim, a village elder. 

According to Jim, local people who violated the regulation would have to pay with a certain amount of their livestock.

No accidents have occurred in A Rang 1 Village during the past four years, he said.

Policeman sacked after shooting

A policeman in southern Cần Thơ Province’s Cờ Đỏ District has been sacked after he shot a local woman in the buttocks.

Police from Trung An Commune stormed a gambling-den in Thạch Lộc 2 Village last month when Nguyễn Văn Hoa, a local policeman on duty, fired two warning shots into the air. Unexpectedly, one of the rubber bullets struck the buttocks of a 43 year-old woman from Trung An Commune, who did not participate in the gambling.

Luckily, the bullet caused no serious injuries but left a hole in her buttocks.

The woman went to the hospital for emergency treatment. After several days, she complained to local authorities that she had to pay more than VNĐ11 million (US$$494) for the treatment and asked to be compensated.

Authorities immediately sacked the policeman and paid compensation to the woman.

Karma takes down traffickers

Two drug-traffickers tried to throw away their drugs in an attempt to escape from police in Hà Nội, but were defeated by the wind.

The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon, while driving by Trường Chinh –Tôn Thất Tùng intersection, the police stopped the two suspects to check their motorbike licences.

While being escorted to the police station, the traffickers started swearing, shouting and arguing with the police. They threw a nylon bag towards Hố Mẻ Lake. Unfortunately, a strong wind blew back the bag back to their feet. Police picked up the bag and discovered it was containing drugs which would be used as evidence to prosecute them.

It seems karma didn’t smile upon the two traffickers, perhaps if they had been polite to the police they’d still be walking the capital’s streets today. — VNS