Vietnam court jails train drivers for causing disaster
The engineer and his assistant of the ill-fated train involved in Vietnam’s worst rail disaster have been sentenced to jail for breaking rules and causing the accident.
At the end of a four-day trial in Hue Saturday, the court sent the driver Bui Thai Son away for 13 years for exceeding permitted speeds.
His assistant, Ha Minh Tam, got seven years for not obeying safety regulations.
In March last year, express train E1 derailed in the central Thua Thien Hue province while en route from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Eight of the 13 compartments overturned, killing 11, injuring 86, and causing losses worth VND6 billion (US$380,000).
Son confessed to the court that he drove the train at 19 km over the permitted 50 km per hour, but blamed it on “pressure” to reach the destination on time.
The judge refused to accept a broken coupler in compartment 3 as the main cause of the accident, a point raised by defense counsel.
The court also instructed the Vietnam Railway Corporation to pay compensation at the rate of VND25-30 million (US$1,570-1,880) for death and VND3-20 million ($190- 1,300) for injury.
These were well below both the amounts demanded and angered victims and their families, many of whom left the court while the verdict was being read.
The two defendants have appealed to the Supreme Court.
By Bui Ngoc Long - Thanh Nien - April 30, 2006.
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