On Wednesday, the Da Nang People’s Court issued final verdicts against the 4 defendants involved in the capsize of the Thao Van 2 trip boat on the Han River on the evening of 4 June 2016.  The tragic incident, which occurred between the Thuan Phuoc and Han River bridges, claimed 3 lives and left 4 injured, including 2 foreigners, and caused over 570 million VND in property damage.

The defendants at their trial

The captain of the boat, 42-year-old Le Cong Chi from Son Tra District, was sentenced to 8 years in prison for ‘waterway traffic violations’. 

The boat’s owner, 45-year-old Vo Quoc Hung from Hai Chau District, and the boat’s manager, 36-year-old Nguyen Ngoc Quan also from Hai Chau District, received prison sentences of 10 and 7 years respectively.  Both were charged with ‘putting into use an unsafe waterway vehicle’.

The last defendant was 42-year-old Le Sau, the former Director of the Da Nang Inland Waterways Authority, who was given 3 and a half years in prison for ‘irresponsibility and causing serious consequences’.

According to the specific indictment by the local prosecutors, Hung put into use the Thao Van 2 trip boat which did not meet the waterway safety regulations.  The boat was carrying 51 passengers, or double its regulated capacity.  The boat’s captain held extra positions as both the helmsman and mechanic, and the boat’s crew members did not have membership cards and had not taken training courses on tourist transport.  Quan assisted Hung in printing and selling the boat tickets, and in placing ticketed seats for passengers improperly on board the boat.  Chi steered the overloaded boat, but he did not check the boat’s performance before operating it, nor did he instruct the passengers how to use the safety equipment.  Sau was found to be negligent or in part responsible for the serious incident.  In February 2016, the municipal Department of Transport had asked for the Thao Van 2 to be towed to the Han River Port Border Checkpoint to be under the management of the local border guard forces.  Due to Sau’s negligence, the boat was still operating, illegally, on the river on 2, 3 and 4 June 2016.

At the trial, the judges accepted that as soon as the boat capsized Chi became actively involved in trying to save the lives of the passengers.  Also that Hung’s family had given compensation to the families of the victims and that he is now suffering from a life-threatening disease.  They took into account that Quan is an Agent Orange victim, and that before the incident Sau had recorded many achievements at work.  Also, the families of the 4 defendants have given great service to the national revolution.  Therefore, the judges had decided to reduce the punishments for the defendants, before giving them their final sentences as outlined above.