On the afternoon of April 09, 2014, plainclothes police in southern
Vinh Long province allegedly carried out a stunning daylight attack
against five Hoa Hao Buddhist followers on the road, leaving at least
two adult victims - Mr. Bui Van Luot, head of the Hoa Hao Buddhist
Association in Vinh Long, and his deputy Mr. Le Van Soc - with major
injuries and a teenage girl Tuong Vi, Mr. Bui’s granddaughter, in
terrifying trauma.
Reportedly, the victims were attacked by 8 attackers, who rode on 4 high
power motorcycles which carried no registration plate and look like the
ones used by traffic police, while traveling home on 2 motorcycles
after attending a prayer and meditation at a home-based temple that
belongs to Mrs. Tran Thi Tuyet at Thanh Trung commune, Binh Tan
district, Vinh Long province.
The attackers kicked out at the motorbike that Mr. Bui was operating to
crash it then hit him on his legs and back with wooden studs, causing
major injuries. Meanwhile, his granddaughter was kicked to the roadside
and collapsed immediately. Mr. Le jumped out of his motorbike and ran
for his life towards nearby houses while getting hit on his chest and
back. Witnessing the brutal assault, local residents and construction
workers rushed to the scene to help the victims; the attackers roared
their motorcycles fleeing the scene in a shameful hit-attack-and-run.
“I was working on the scaffolding when I heard a cry for help on the
street. I looked out and saw 8 men riding on 4 motorcycles and chasing
four people and a young girl on 2 motorcycles. They were pushing off
[the two motorcycles] while hitting [the victims]. We rushed to the
scene and they ran away,” said Mr. Bui Van Lanh, a construction worker
and one of the good Samaritans those who came to rescue the victims.
"When we were praying at the home-based temple we saw about 50
plainclothes policemen walking around the house. When we were about 2 km
away from Thanh Trung and Thanh Dong border line in Binh Tan district,
Vinh Long province, I saw two motorcycles riding closely to my motorbike
and the riders in the back seat kicked out at my motorbike and I lost
control. They used wooden studs to hit me on my legs and back. My
granddaughter Tuong Vi was kicked and collapsed. She regained
consciousness after a long time. Right now, she is so scared and we
don’t know if she suffers any internal injuries. We are monitoring her
health condition,” said Mr. Bui Van Luot, the main target of the attack.
In recent days police in An Giang province and Vinh Long province have
reportedly carried out different missions targeting some Hoa Hao Buddist
leaders in the provinces, including conducting surveillance,
barricading their houses, disrupting religious activities and making
physical attack like this one.
On April 2, U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf sends a letter to U.S.
Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear asking him to provide protections to
religious leaders in Vietnam, VOA’s Vietnamese service reported.
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