The Great Land Grab: How a Threat to Officials Unveiled a Dark Underbelly in Hanoi

In relation to the case of occupying tens of thousands of square meters of project land and defense land, and threatening to “deal with” the relatives of officials in Thach Hoa Commune (Thach That District), on March 17, Mr. Le Minh Duc, Secretary of the District Party Committee of Thach That, said that this morning, the district leaders had worked with the Hanoi Police on the matter. Hanoi Police has dispatched a working group to the locality to work with the People’s Committee of Thach Hoa Commune and related individuals.

Regarding the occupation of tens of thousands of square meters of project land and defense land in Village 5 (Thach Hoa Commune), Mr. Duc said that he had assigned the People’s Committee of Thach That District to coordinate with related agencies to investigate and clarify the issue.

According to Mr. Nguyen Manh Hong, Chairman of Thach That District People’s Committee, the district has submitted a report on this issue to the Hanoi People’s Committee. This morning, the district also held a meeting with the city’s functional agencies to handle the case in accordance with the law.

Previously, as reported by Tien Phong, recently in Village 5 (Thach Hoa Commune), Mr. Nguyen Xuan T and his wife, Nguyen Thi N, residing in Binh Yen Commune (Thach That District), had occupied, exploited, and destroyed land. The location of the violation belongs to the planning area of the project for the construction of the Hanoi National University, resettlement land, and defense land, with an area ranging from 10,000 to 20,000 square meters.

The People’s Committee of Thach Hoa Commune twice submitted proposals requesting the People’s Committee of Thach That District to issue a decision on administrative sanctions, forcing the demolition of violating constructions, and restoring the site to its original state. However, the violations have not been dealt with up to now.

Notably, when the functional forces of the locality went down to measure, determine landmarks, and handle violations, they were threatened with retaliation against officials’ relatives.

Immediately after being threatened, the officials of the Thach Hoa Commune People’s Committee reported to the police. The Hanoi Police also invited the threatened officials to work and take statements.

The People’s Committee of Thach Hoa Commune requested the People’s Committee of Thach That District and Hanoi City to support and resolve the issue thoroughly to ensure local security and order and help officials feel secure in performing their duties.