'Missing' Saigon ward leader fired after going AWOL for two months

Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 fired one of its ward leaders today after being unable to locate the official for almost two months. 

Nguyen Chi Viet, vice chairman of Nguyen Thai Binh Ward's People's Committee, took a two-day holiday on July 3 and hasn't returned since.

Three warning letters have been sent to Viet's house, but there has been no reply. One district leader told VnExpress that even "his family doesn't have any information".

According to Article 38 of the Labor Code, employees can be dismissed if they fail to show up for work for more than 15 days in a row. 

District 1 leaders denied rumors that the official had ran away from debt, but did tell reporters that Viet had been unable to pay for his new iPhone.