A German reader living in Hanoi commented on the controversial acts of George Heydlauff when he regulated traffic in the Vietnamese capital by himself. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of TuoiTreNews.

I totally agree that traffic in Hanoi is more chaotic than ever. People seem to dash here and there without any thought of the law, paying heed only when a police officer is in sight. The government must seriously consider tackling this a top priority.

As for Mr. Heydlauff who decided to single-handedly stop those who rode against traffic, I, with utmost sympathy and respect, disagree with his actions.

I sympathize with him because he had good reasons to do it as he and his child were nearly hit by a motorist traveling the wrong way. I respect him because he was very brave walking to and fro across a busy street like that, which I could never do (I tried to cross the crazy Hanoi streets as least as possible). I also respect him because he dared do what few foreigners dare not think of: bringing harmony and safety to the streets of the capital, standing up to violators, some of whom surely are not in a good mood and could attack him any time.

But even so, I beg to differ with him on some points:

First: Is ... Xem thêm

Police in Hai Duong Province have arrested Nguyen Van Dung, aka Tuan ‘Hai Phong’, who had been hiding after his involvement in extorting US$238,000 from another man in Binh Thuan Province last year. Dung, who had been wanted by police since mid 2011, was escorted from Hai Duong to Binh Thuan for questioning on Tuesday. According to the case file, Vo Thi Tuyet, a manager of the Lucky Star Hotel in Xuan Loc District, Dong Nai Province, and her de facto husband, Phan Anh Cuong, engaged themselves in illegal football betting in 2010. The couple then lost VND1 billion (US$48,000) to another football bettor in Cambodia, simply identified as Ty, but failed to pay the amount. Due to their conflict, the couple parted later the same year and Cuong returned to his former wife in Binh Thuan’s Phan Thiet. Tuyet tried to get in contact with him but failed to do so. On May 26, 2011, Tuyet asked Dung, a member of the underground in northern Hai Phong City, to assist her in her scam to extort the amount from Cuong. A few days later, Dung and four others, Nguyen Van Nghiem, Le Van Hien, Do Trong Thanh and Tran Dang Manh - who was a police major in a district in HCMC - went to Phan Thiet to look for Cuong. They finally found Cuong and forced him to sign a promissory note stating he owed Tuyet $238,000. According to t ... Xem thêm

More than 270 people with deformities of the jaw, face, eyes and limbs in the Mekong Delta provinces of Vinh Long, Dong Thap and Ben Tre were offered free check-ups from June 22-28, with 130 already receiving free operations. The free service has been supplied by volunteer doctors and nurses from the ‘Smile for Children’ Organization from the Republic of Korea funded by SK Telecom, Military Hospital 108 and Vinh Long’s General Hospital. Together with the free operations, which cost $200-300 each, the patients also receive travel expenses of VND100,000 from SK Telecom and patients who are operated on are also presented with an VND800,000 gift each. Patients from poor households are also supplied with free meals from Vinh Long province’s Association for the Support of Disabled and Orphans. In 2010, the Smile for Children Organization and SK Telecom targeted patients in the central coastal province of Phu Yen and in 2009 they helped children in the central province of Thanh Hoa to regain their natural smiles.

Miss South Mekong 2009 Vo Thi My Xuan has admitted to procuring beauties, hot girls, and actresses for well-off clients doing business with her sex ring, police sources have said. Xuan said a beauty queen in Ben Tre Mekong Delta Province, a model purportedly working for a famous fashion company in Ho Chi Minh City, and an attractive young woman known for sexy photos are members of her ring. In related news two other pimp suspects, including an actress who starred in a Golden Kite nominated film, have been also summoned for questioning. A source said that on June 4 police in Ho Chi Minh City detained Le Quang Tuan Anh, 27, a make-up artist, for his involvement in the high-class prostitution ring run by Miss My Xuan. Tuan Anh is said to maintain a good relationship with a number of beauties and models in Vietnamese showbiz. Tuan Anh took 60 percent of the profits earned by the prostitutes. Another suspected pimp is a 26-year-old model-cum-actress who lives in Binh Thanh district. She won second place in a beauty contest and starred in the action movie "Lenh Xoa So”, one of 12 nominees for the Golden Kite 2011. However she was released on bail due to her late-term pregnancy. The actress is thought to have lured My Xuan to sell herself for the first time. In a recent time, the actress offered My Xuan a ... Xem thêm

Four pimps involved in a high-end sex ring of actresses, models, and beauties that has recently rocked Vietnamese showbiz were prosecuted Sunday on charges of providing prostitution services. They are Miss Vo Thi My Xuan, 27, Tran Quang Mai, 40, Nguyen Huu Dat, 43, and Le Quang Tuan Anh, 27. Actress Tran Thi H., 24, who is believed to be another of the ring’s pimps, has been released on bail due to late-term pregnancy. Meanwhile, another suspected pimp named Huy has run away in his attempt to escape police arrest. Previously, on June 2, police conducted surprise raids two big hotels in the city center and caught four high-class prostitutes having sex with their wealthy clients. The sex workers were later identified as 20-year-old L.T.T.H, an actress, model, and lounge singer; 23-year-old N.T.M.N, a model; 20-year-old L.T.Y.D, a beauty queen in Ben Tre province; and 25-year-old L.T.H.D, a first-year student at a college in Ho Chi Minh City. The prostitution ring run by Miss My Xuan has not only shocked local showbiz but also grabbed huge attention from global media outlets like MSN News, Times Live, Tengri News, and 21 CN in China, Britishbusinessfinder and BBC in the UK, and VOA (Voice of America), and Singapore’s Straits Time, among others. It has also attracted thousands of comments on social net ... Xem thêm

The four men who were caught having sex with high-class prostitutes at two hotels in District 1 on June 2 are not well-known in business circles, according to Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City Newspaper. They run small-sized real estate companies in a rural district, the newspaper said. The clients are identified as T.V.T., 52, D.V.M., NVN, 52, and TTH, all hailing from Binh Chanh district. In addition to these four, investigators also revealed the names of some ‘real’ rich men who are familiar clients of the sex ring. Among them are K., a media tycoon, and C., a real estate tycoon. Long-legged girls: a gift for business relations In related news, police in Ho Chi Minh City continue to hold Miss Vo Thi My Xuan and three other pimps who have been accused of running a high-class prostitution ring of beauties, models, and actresses. They told investigators that the ring was initially found by Tran Quang Mai, a female barber and bar waitress in downtown HCMC, and Le Quang Tuan Anh, a make-up artist. Mai knew many rich men who consider long-legged prostitutes a hobby or a gift for their business partners. Thus, Mai tried to hunt down beautiful ‘prey’ and in the process she met Tuan Anh, who maintains a good relationship with a wide circle of beauties and models in local showbiz. Their business relations began ... Xem thêm