~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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Sacked aviation official in Vietnam attempts suicide

A senior civil aviation official in Vietnam, sacked for abuse of power, has tried to commit suicide. State media reports Nguyen Lai, 47, has suffered burns to more than 60 per cent of his body and is now in a coma in a hospital in the central city of Danang after setting fire to himself with petrol. Lai was fired from his post as general director of the Central Aviation Airport Authority earlier this month as part of an ongoing crackdown on official corruption. He was implicated in the illegal use of $US1.5 million of state funds to buy land.

ABC Radio Australia - February 28, 2005.


Former Vietnamese official reportedly attempts suicide

HANOI - A former senior aviation official apparently attempted suicide after being suspended from his position for financial mismanagement, officials and state-controlled media reported Monday. Nguyen Lai, former general director of the Airport Authority for Central Vietnam, was taken to a hospital in central Danang city on Saturday with serious burns on his face, neck and limbs, said Pham Van Thanh, the deputy head of the agency. Thanh said Lai had attended a meeting earlier in the day and came back to his office.

A staff member heard strange noises coming from his locked room and forced the door open, Thanh said. The room was filled with gas fumes. Lai, who was only wearing an undershirt and shorts, was rushed to a hospital in Danang and transferred to a hospital near Hanoi on Sunday where his condition is improving, Thanh said. "Several days before, he complained that he was tired and appeared to be tense,'' he said.

Local media are reporting that it was an attempted suicide though Thanh said police are still investigating the incident. Lai was suspended from his position earlier this month for using nearly 24 billion dong (US$1.5 million; euro1.15 million) in government funds to buy land for his personal use, officials have said. He also failed to get approval from the ministry to buy a Mercedes and a BMW in 2003.

Dozens of officials and executives from the aviation, oil and gas and textile industries have been arrested in recent months for their involvement in corruption scandals.

The Associated Press - February 28, 2005.