Binh Thuan: legal proceedings started against 17 more riot suspects

Binh Thuan (VNA) – The People’s Procuracy in the central province of Binh Thuan on August 29 approved the launch of legal proceedings against 17 more people concerning the disturbance of public order at the provincial People’s Committee headquarters last June.

To date, the number of riot suspects facing legal proceedings has come to 32.

Investigation is underway so that a trial could begin soon. 

The disturbance began in Phan Thiet City at about 5pm of June 10, when a group of people gathered and moved from Phan Thiet Market to the provincial People’s Committee building to protest draft law provisions on special administrative-economic units and leasing land at the units.

They shouted and jostled police and guards of the building and incited bystanders to attack police with bricks and stones.

Some even attacked police with homemade petrol bombs, stones and some other tools, and destroyed the fence and burned the sentry box and several rooms of the sentry force. They also damaged the fence around some other provincial agencies.

Traffic near the administration’s headquarters was paralysed while over 15 motorbikes were burned down and many facilities were destroyed.

Police were sent to the site, and the crowd was only dissolved by about 2am of June 11.

According to the Binh Thuan Police, through interrogation, all of the arrested suspects said they were given money to participate in the disturbance.  

According to the provincial Party Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, demonstrations and social order disturbance in the locality last June were incited by reactionaries. Most of those persuaded to join such incidents were people with a criminal background or drug addicts.

The commission said the disagreement of the special economic zone draft law was just a pretext for arousing public disorders.

The police are searching for the masterminds so that they could be handled in line with the law.-VNA