Côn Đảo National Park forest managers in the southern province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu on June 17 caught Phạm Văn Tân, 28, illegally transporting 116 vích, a kind of sea turtle, eggs.

Tân allegedly admitted to the forest managers that he had stolen the eggs from Bảy Cạnh Island.

Côn Đảo Island District Investigation Police on July 27 decided to begin legal proceedings against Phạm Văn Tân for violating regulations on rare and endangered animals.

But the decision was not approved by the district People’s Procuracy.

In a meeting on the case, Trần Thanh Tâm, director of the Côn Đảo District People’s Procuracy, said that Tân could not be prosecuted, because the Article 190 in the Criminal Code did not have any regulations related to “eggs”. It only had regulations about “animals”.

Tâm claimed that turtles’ eggs were not products of turtles, because the eggs were not processed from some parts of the turtles.

Director Tâm told the Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that he asked for guidance from the Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu People’s Procuracy, and was told that the procuracy could not begin legal proceedings. The law states that evidence must be a product of the animal, for instance a rhino’s horn. People must harm the rhino to take the horn, so the horn was a product of the rhino, he added.

However, representatives from the Forest Management Unit of Côn Đảo National Park and the district police, a lawyer and a marine ressearcher shared the view that turtles’ eggs were turtles’ products, because the eggs were laid by the turtles.

Vích is listed as rare and endangered animal. They lay many eggs, but only about one in 10,000 hatch and reach maturity.

Universities send congratulation messages to candidates

In the past, students in Việt Nam competed with each other to gain places at universities, with a higher-education considered valuable.

But this year, many universities have had to send congratulation messages to candidates, or call them to ask them to come to the universities, because so few candidates enrolled after exam results were announced.

Phạm Tấn Hạ, head of the Training Division of the HCM City University of Social Sciences and Humanity, said that the university was short of 350 students.

On Saturday, only 21 students handed in documents to enter the school.

“We called candidates who passed the entrance exam, but most said they would study at another school,” he said.

The HCM City Economy and Law University sent congratulation letters from the principal to every candidate, but still lack 500 students.

The same thing happened to Hải Phòng Medicine and Pharmacy University.

More than 1,000 candidates passed the entrance exam, but only 500 enrolled.

Even the Academy of Finance, one of the most famous universities in Việt Nam, had to order 15 officials to call 1,300 candidates to invite them to enroll.

200 of them said they would, whereas 18 others said that they were thinking carefully. The remainder said that they would study elsewhere.

Maybe it is the time for big change in the country’s education. – VNS