A Twist in the Tale
Hòa Bình taps agricultural tourism for sustainable development
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THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — It’s no secret Việt Nam’s roads can be dangerous, but one cattle farmer has found out the hard way that even if an accident isn’t your fault, you could end up paying.
One afternoon last April, a man was leading eight cattle across a highway in Huế — seven had crossed the road, but the final lingerer proved to be his downfall, as a motorbike driver slammed into the beast.
The guilty cattle suffered broken horns and serious bruises but remained bullish nevertheless, while the poor motorcycle driver suffered severe trauma to the head and it took him four months in hospital to recover.
However, two months afterwards, the patient needed to be hospitalised again and this time, he didn’t survive septic shocks that were a result of the head injury.
Luckily for the farmer, the family of the dead victim petitioned for a reduced sentence, on account of his impoverished background, even though the motorist was deemed to be at fault for reckless driving.
The court earlier this month handed the farmer a suspended one-year jail sentence with two years under supervision, for violations of road traffic laws.
The man even had to sell off five of his cows to cover the victim’s hospital expense.
Worse still, now he’s afraid to bring his remaining three cows on grazing trips and instead brings grass to them. — VNS
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