Vietnam Disciplines 1,600 Communal Policemen Since 2009

Communal policemen praised by the Ministry of Public Security

Communal policemen praised by the Ministry of Public Security

Vietnamese policemen have been equipped with guns and electric batons. Recently, the Ministry of Public Security has asked the parliament to give more power to communal police to conduct initial investigation in criminal cases. Many legislators objected to the proposal, saying communal policemen are not trained for these tasks.

By Vu Quoc Ngu | Aug 13, 2015

Over 1,600 communal policemen in Vietnam have been disciplined since 2009 due to their violations, accounting for 1.2% of the total number of policemen at the grass-root level in the communist nation.

During the past six years, 473 communal policemen have been dismissed and 385 have been received warning from local authorities, according to the Nong Thon Ngay Nay newspaper.

Currently, Vietnam has 111,567 communal policemen and the country needs an additional 7,634, the newspaper said.

As many as 44,517 communal policemen, or 45.5% of the total number, have graduated high school, 50,803 of them have passed the secondary school and 6,661 just passed the primary school.

Vietnamese policemen have been equipped with guns and electric batons. Recently, the Ministry of Public Security has asked the parliament to give more power to communal police to conduct initial investigation in criminal cases. Many legislators objected to the proposal, saying communal policemen are not trained for these tasks.

In recent years, many policemen in the grass-root level have been attacked, getting severe injuries. Since 2009, 55 communal policemen have died and 429 have been injured while conducting duties.

According to state-controlled media, many Vietnamese have been tortured by communal police, many of them died while other received serious injuries after being beaten by local policemen