Local people in Ngọc Hiển District of the southernmost province of Cà Mau felt very excited when a bridge crossing the Ô River was put into operation early this year.

However, their joy didn’t last very long. The bridge collapsed last week and its two spans still lie in the river. Fortunately, the incident happened late at night so no one was injured.

Construction of the 84m-long and 3.5m-wide bridge kicked off in 2013 with a total investment capital of more than VNĐ4 billion (US$179,000). The investment came from the district People’s Committee and the bridge was built by the Sử Thành Phú Trade and Construction Ltd. Co.

A representative from the company said that the key reason leading to the collapse of the bridge was a rise in the water level. He further said that the rise in water levels had changed the water flow and caused a landslide.

This is the first time we have heard that a rise water levels can cause the collapse of a concrete bridge.

I doubt if people had been crossing the bridge when it collapsed, the company would have blamed them for being too heavy.

However, whatever the reason for the collapse, the contractor should take measures soon to rectify the situation and allow local people to again cross the river safely.

Karaoke kindness leads to a damaged car

Do you like karaoke? If yes, you should be careful when visiting a karaoke bar in Mỹ Tho City of the Mekong Delta province of Tiền Giang, particularly when you get there by a muddy car.

On Monday, Dương Trung Hiếu, director of a company in southern Long An Province, went to a karaoke shop in Hùng Vương District in his own car to sing with his friends. His car was very muddy as he had just returned from a field trip to a forest.

After leaving the shop, Hiếu was very surprised to see his car being cleaned, but then surprise quickly turned into shock when he looked closely at his vehicle. The car’s doors and windscreen were covered in scratches.

Standing next to the car were two muscular security guards from the shop. They smiled and eagerly told him that they had used dry cloths to clean his car after finding it too dirty. They further said that because the spots on the car were difficult to clean, they had spent extra great effort to remove them.

Hiếu tried to be as much polite as possible by saying thank you to the security guards and took the car to a garage to repair the damage.

Kindness is necessary, but it can cause more harm than good if not used in the right place at the right time. There is a saying that says kindness plus a lack of knowledge can cause damage. - VNS