Video captures Vietnamese cop kicking, throwing vendors’ trays during market cleanup

By Quoc Thinh   October 4, 2017 | 07:38 pm PT
‘I know what I did was wrong but the officer was so rude,’ said one vendor whose fish basin was kicked off the sidewalk.

A senior police officer in Dak Lak Province is facing disciplinary measures after footage showing him  kicking and throwing street vendors’ trays went viral online.

Le Tan Thinh, chief of police in Quang Dien Commune, was featured in various media reports with a video of him attempting to clear a sidewalk market on Tuesday.

Thinh appears angry in the video and can be seen screaming and kicking and throwing vendors’ trays from the sidewalk. At one point he also picks up and smashes a chair, with the vendors looking on helplessly.

Locals said that vendors have been using the sidewalk for years, mostly because they do not have an official space in the market just steps away.

One vendor whose basin was kicked flying in the video said she was just trying to sell some fish that her husband had caught. She said she was not a regular vendor and did not have a space in the market.

“I know what I did was wrong but the officer was so rude and his actions were completely unethical,” the 66-year-old woman said, as cited in a local media report.

Through the media, Thinh has asked the vendors for their forgiveness for his “impulsive” actions. He said his unit had cleared the market many times, but vendors kept coming back and some were rude to him.

Dak Lak police department said on Wednesday it is looking into the matter and will propose the appropriate punishment.

A senior officer said local police receive public order training every year.

The officer said Thinh’s action was “offensive” and it would affect the local police force’s image.

The Global Corruption Barometer 2013 ranked the police force as the most corrupt institution in Vietnam.

 
 
go to top