Villagers claim officials rip off 90% of typhoon relief funds

Residents of another central Vietnamese village say they have lost relief aid with local authorities only handing out just one-tenth of the allocated amounts, Thanh Nien newspaper has found.

Nguyen The Nua and Nguyen The Dinh of Dai Cuong commune in Quang Nam province’s Dai Loc district complained they had each received only 100,000 dong (US$6.30) after signing a receipt for one million 1 (US$63).

Five other families in the village said they had received 200,000 dong.

A further 47 told Thanh Nien they had received nothing.

They all said officials had told them to “donate” the money to renovate a commune house.

Dai Cuong commune head Nguyen Huu Thuong admitted to Thanh Nien the complaints were true.

He promised to contact concerned officials to disburse the relief money soon.

Thanh Nien has found similar scams plaguing other communes in Dai Loc district and urged authorities concerned to take transparent and just action.

Thanh Nien first reported about these goings-on when it found officials had demanded a cut in relief money from Typhoon Xangsane victims in a village in Dien Ban, another district in Quang Nam.

 

Category: Legal