Vietnam to charge man with terrorism for bombing provincial tax office

By Phuoc Tuan   October 26, 2019 | 02:11 am PT
Vietnam to charge man with terrorism for bombing provincial tax office
Sapper forces arrived at the scene of an explosion at the tax office of Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam, September 30, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyet Trieu.
A man detained for allegedly causing an explosion in Binh Duong Province’s tax office will be charged with terrorism, the Ministry of Public Security says.

Truong Duong, 39, who was arrested earlier this month, will face the charge of "terrorism to oppose the people's administration," the ministry said on its website Friday. Under Vietnam's Penal Code, it is a charge that is punishable by death.

Duong was identified as the main person responsible for the explosion that rocked the headquarters of the provincial tax department in Thu Dau Mot Town, which is not far from HCMC, on September 30.

The ministry says that he was acting under the guidance of Lisa Pham, a member of the U.S- based organization called the "Provisional National Government of Vietnam," which is classified as a terrorist organization, the ministry said.

The explosion is believed to have taken place in a restroom inside the four-story building. It created a large hole in the wall on the first floor and shattered windows and doors on the first and second floors.

No casualties were reported in the blast.

The "Provisional National Government of Vietnam" was established in 1990 in the U.S. Its aim is to overthrow the Vietnamese government through violence and acts of terrorism, according to the ministry. The organization is headed by Dao Minh Quan, who has proclaimed himself the "prime minister" of his "government."

Vietnamese authorities have already issued international arrest warrants against Quan and six other members, all of whom are living in the U.S. or Canada.

In August last year, two of its members, both Vietnamese Americans, were jailed for making plans to sabotage the country's celebration of the Reunification Day on April 30.

The organization was also accused of being behind a petrol bomb attack that burnt 320 motorbikes at a police warehouse in the southern Dong Nai Province in April 2017, and a failed terror attack at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat International Airport later that month.

A HCMC court in December 2017 sentenced 15 Vietnamese to between five and 16 years in prison for the two attacks.

 
 
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