On December 14, the People's Committee of Soc Trang Ward (Can Tho City) issued a document informing the press agencies and all people in the ward about the case of trees being cut down at the Ho Nuoc Ngoc Cultural Area.
According to the People's Committee of Soc Trang Ward, on December 8, 2025, after receiving information from people about the cut down of trees in the Ho Nuoc Ngot Cultural Area, the People's Committee of Soc Trang Ward assigned the Ward Police to conduct an inspection and review of the scene. Through inspection, the authorities discovered many trees inside that had been cut down.
Through the work of grasping the situation and inspecting the Ho Nuoc Ngot Cultural Area (No. 2, Hung Vuong Street), Soc Trang Ward Police recorded many trees in the area that were cut down. Initial statistics show an estimated 42 trees, mainly acacia trees and some other types of trees.
At the scene, the ground in the tree base area has many cuts, the tree base has just been cut with fresh wood. On the concrete path, there are left tree branches, the trunk has been transported away. The area where the trees were cut down had no surveillance cameras, no people, cutting tools or means of transportation were detected at the time of inspection.
Since the merger of Soc Trang province, Hau Giang province and Can Tho city, the Ho Nuoc Ngoc Cultural Area under the direct management of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho city. The Tourism Promotion Information Center, a unit under the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, is assigned to manage this area.
Through information from the press, verification of the situation at the scene and information provided by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City, it was initially determined that some people had organized the cutting down of 42 trees and a total of 7 trucks to transport the above trees.
Immediately after discovering the incident, the leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City directed the Tourism Promotion Information Center to review and count all the trees that were cut down.
The People's Committee of Soc Trang Ward and the Ward Police coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City and the Economic Police Department of Can Tho City Police to verify the incident and report to competent authorities to direct handling according to regulations.
As previously reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, according to people's feedback, on the morning of December 11, reporters were present at the Hot Water Lake Cultural Area. In the area where ornamental plants were previously sold, many large cajuput trees were cut down, leaving the base close to the ground, the new cutting exposed the red wood inside. All the wooden trunks have been moved, and the area inside the fence is locked.
Along the path leading to the mini soccer field, many ancient acacia trees continue to be cut down. Some wooden trunks are still lying in open space, others are temporarily covered with leaves.
