Vietnamese Communal Police Chief Accused of Illegal Arrest, Torture

Victim of police torture Nguyen Kim Thanh

Victim of police torture Nguyen Kim Thanh (photo from Tuoi Tre newspaper)

Upon arriving at the police station, Thanh was accused of attacking Tra’s house together with his friends. When the man rejected, Tra hit him in his back several times with his baton, handcuffed the man left arm to the chair and went on to beat him in his waist, the victim said.

by Vu Quoc Ngu, May 31, 2016

Huynh Tan Tra, communal police chief in Vietnam’s central coastal province of Phu Yen has been accused of illegally arresting a local citizen and meting out corporal punishment to him in March, the Tuoi Tre newspaper has reported.

Nguyen Kim Thanh, 20, residing in Hoa Dinh Dong commune, Phu Hoa district, has submitted a denunciation letter to local authorities, stating that Tra and his officers had wrongfully detained and caused injuries to him during interrogation.

Thanh was kept in custody as he was suspected to throw rocks and break the windows of Tra’s house.

Vo Thi Su, Thanh’s mother, said the police chief, along with two other officers, came to their house at around 2:00 AM on March 29, requesting to enter the residence to examine their family register. The police officers escorted the man to the station on their motorbike, she said.

Upon arriving at the police station, Thanh was accused of attacking Tra’s house together with his friends. When the man rejected, Tra hit him in his back several times with his baton, handcuffed the man left arm to the chair and went on to beat him in his waist, the victim said.

The police officer also attacked his detainee with an electric baton and released him two hours later, the victim claimed.

Su said that her son crumbled and lost consciousness the moment he reached his house, with several bruises found on his back and abdomen, adding the officers detained Thanh without any warrant, decision or evidence.

The family was invited to the police station for a meeting on March 31, during which Tra explained his reason of arrest, admitted that it was wrong for him to beat Thanh, and offered to pay all his medical bills.

The police chief also arrived at Thanh’s house, offering VND1 million ($44.59) and asking him not to file any lawsuit, which was turned down by the family, the newspaper said.

On April 1, Thanh was taken to a local clinic and diagnosed with soft tissue injury, the mother said.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Nhi, chairwoman of the People’s Committee in Hoa Dinh Dong commune, asserted that she was not aware of the administrative check, arrest, or assault.

Illegal detention and torture is rampant in Vietnam, especially in communal level, according to state media.

The Human Rights Watch, in its release last year, reported that police abuse is systemic in Vietnam, causing hundreds of deaths of detainees and suspected people in police station.

The Ministry of Public Security reported that 226 detainees and suspects died in police’s custody between October 2010 and September 2014, and police said most of their deaths were caused by illness and suicides while social networks and the families of the victims said their deaths were caused by police power abuse.

More than ten of people were reported to die in police stations or outside related to police officers so far this year, according to the state-run media.

Few Vietnamese policemen have been disciplined with light sentences for torturing suspects.

Vietnam ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2014, however, many people were found dead or with severe injuries when they were detained in police station nationwide.