A female passenger was forced off a Phuong Trang bus in the middle of nowhere just after midnight on Wednesday after she had refused to let go of a cat she snuck aboard in her backpack. Cats are considered taboo by Vietnamese drivers, who think the feline animal can bring bad luck to their journey. Tran Ngoc Ha, 25, says she boarded a Phuong Trang bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Thap Province at 10:00 pm on Tuesday. Around 1:00 am the following morning, the bus driver and his assistant discovered that Ha had hid a cat in her backpack and demanded that she either leave the animal on the street or both she and the cat disembark from the vehicle. “I begged them to let me sit at the front of the bus so as not to disturb other passengers, since it was only 30 kilometers away from my house,” Ha recalled. “But they refused, and insisted that I throw my cat off the bus or they would force me off … [Read more...] about Passenger forced off Phuong Trang bus for smuggling cat in backpack
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VietJet Air praised for assisting students in HCM City
VietNamNetBridge - The private air carrier VietJet has received a certificate of merit from the HCM City Youth Union for its active contribution for the union's program to assist candidates of the 2014 university entrance exams in HCM City, which were held in early July. Under the program, over 18,000 volunteers from universities in HCM City were divided into 500 groups to be in duty at schools, bus and railways stations and ports to assist candidates from many provinces who went to HCM City for the exams. … [Read more...] about VietJet Air praised for assisting students in HCM City
Social Highlights for November 12
Lai Chau breaks up many drug trafficking rings Police forces in the northwestern province of Lai Chau have uncovered a number of drug trafficking rings and seized thousands of synthetic drugs. Since August 2013, local police have recovered more than 17,400 pills from four separate smuggling rings. Lai Chau Provincial Police Department Deputy Director Colonel Le Van Bay said most perpetrators are local, Son La, or Lao Cai residents collaborating with Lao smugglers transporting drugs from the infamous Golden Triangle. In early August, police in Lai Chau's Than Uyen district caught red handed 29-year-old Son La resident Mua A Ky carrying 6,600 synthetic pills from Laos to Lao Cai province. Ky confessed buying drugs from a Lao man named Mua A Su to sell to the Chinese national Ly A Po at the Lao Cai border gate. On September 17, police arrested 45-year-old Giang A Hang attempting to smuggle 5,968 pills hidden in his motorbike. More than 4,000 pills were seized when local police … [Read more...] about Social Highlights for November 12
Social Highlights for November 4
Shop blaze kills four family members The victims are a couple, their 15-year-old son and 74-year-old father. The cause of the blaze remains unknown. Rescue teams failed to save the victims because it took time to break down the family's automatic rolling door, which was tightly closed, when the blaze occurred at 1am. The case is under investigation. Dozens survive passenger bus fire Dozens managed to escape a passenger bus with bunk beds after it was on fire in Ha Tinh province early on November 4. The North-South express bus caught fire when it was travelling past Phu Viet commune, Thach Ha district, at 04.00am. The blaze was said to break out at the rear-end of the bus and quickly spread across the vehicle. Passengers managed to get out of the bus before local fire fighters put out the roaring fire within 30 minutes. Investigation into the cause of the incident is under way. Students win American Academy scholarships As many as 28 students in the central city were … [Read more...] about Social Highlights for November 4
HCM City centre to set up public rental sites for electric motorbikes
About 1,000 electric motorbikes will be offered for rent at sites in District 1.To use the motorbikes, drivers will download an app called Vimotor which provides information on the nearest parking spots and allows them to scan codes on the motorbike to unlock it.When users finish their ride, they will park their rented vehicles at a designated parking spot and pay for the ride via the Vimotor app.Users are charged VNĐ3,000 for the first 10 minutes of their ride and VNĐ1,500 for every five minutes thereafter.Since the average rental time is between 15 and 20 minutes, each ride costs VNĐ4,500 to 6,000, according to the transport department.To encourage them to use the service, during the first three months of operation, local residents will not be charged.The service, operated by IOT Technology Investment and Development Company (IOT), will be piloted in District 1 at parking sites located 200 to 300m from each other.The sites will be set up near bus stops, schools, … [Read more...] about HCM City centre to set up public rental sites for electric motorbikes