Four Vietnamese Die during Police Detention So Far This Year

chết lúc tạm giam
In 2014, Vietnam adopted the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, Vietnamese continue to suffer while being detained by local police.
By Vu Quoc Ngu | Apr 14, 2015

Four Vietnamese have been found dead in police stations in four localities, including the capital city of Hanoi, so far this year, state media reported.

Phan Duc Dat, 32, from Da Lat city in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong became the last detainee died during police detention, according to the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Tuesday.

Dat was arrested on Dec 29, 2014 and charged with allegation of objecting on-duty police officials in Ho Chi Minh City. On the day, his friend was shot to dead while Dat was injured by police bullet in his leg.

HCM City’s police said Dat had a breathing problem and brought to hospital for urgent emergency but doctors couldn’t save his life. The autopsy carried out by the city’s police found no injuries in his body, said Three-star Major Nguyen Sy Quang, the spokesman of the city’s police department.

In April, two other people were also found dead in police station. One April 1, Mrs. Nguyen Hong Luong, 62, went to a police station in Dien Bien ward, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi to ask local police officers on land issues. She was found burned in a toilet of the police building, and died in hospital due to heavy injuries.

Police said she self-immolated but her family has not believed. They found some severe injuries in her head. The autopsy made by the Hanoi-based military laboratory said she died from burning and her skull and five ribbons were broken.

One week later, on April 8, Nguyen Duc Duan, 33, from Khoai Chau district, Hung Yen province, died in the detention facility of the district police. He was arrested on March 16 for clashing with a local resident in Dong Tao commune. His relatives said there were a number of injuries in his body.

Earlier this year, Do Van Binh, 18, died in the police detention facility in Hoa Vang district in the central city of Danang. His family suspected that his death was caused by police torture since his body had a number of injuries.

Last year, Minister of Public Security admitted that 19 police officers have been fired for torturing suspects between 2011 and 2013. During the same period, 183 others were disciplined for violating investigative procedures and regulations through dismissal, demotion or reassignment,

In 2014, Vietnam adopted the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, Vietnamese continue to suffer while being detained by local police.

Vietnamese top legislator Nguyen Sinh Hung said police are fully responsible for the deaths of detainees.