Repeated violations but no aggravating circumstances applied
On October 4, Mr. Vo Dac Hoa - Chairman of the People's Committee of Gio Linh district (Quang Tri province) - confirmed that this unit had decided to administratively sanction Mr. Vo Quoc Khanh (born in 1977, residing in Lam Xuan village, Gio Mai commune, Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province).
Mr. Vo Quoc Khanh was administratively fined 20 million VND for destroying land and deforming the terrain with a destroyed area of 3,205.5 square meters at plot number 270, map sheet number 12 in Lam Xuan village. In addition to being administratively fined, Mr. Vo Quoc Khanh was forced to restore the land to its original condition before the violation.
Previously, on July 10, 2024, Mr. Khanh was fined by the People's Committee of Gio Mai commune for administrative violations in the field of land for illegally mining sand, changing the status of the land plot.
After being fined, Mr. Khanh continued to illegally mine sand for sale. When Lao Dong Newspaper reported, Mr. Khanh continued to be fined for administrative violations on September 9, 2024. Although Mr. Vo Quoc Khanh repeatedly violated the law, in the penalty decision, the Gio Linh District People's Committee did not apply aggravating circumstances?
Not restored to original condition
According to the decision on administrative sanctions by the Gio Linh District People's Committee, the time limit for implementing remedial measures is 20 days from the date of receipt of the decision. The date of the Gio Linh District People's Committee's decision on sanctions was September 11, 2024. It has been more than 20 days, but according to records, the remedial measures have been very sketchy.
Mr. Le Tien Dung - Secretary of Gio Linh District Party Committee - said that upon receiving information about the sand mining case mentioned by Lao Dong Newspaper, Gio Linh District Party Committee requested a report and handling.
"The initial handling will be carried out by the District People's Committee, and there will be a monitoring team in the future. I will also remind the Secretary and Chairman of Gio Mai commune to strictly follow the regulations and not let similar incidents happen," Mr. Le Tien Dung informed.
Regarding the above incident, previously, people in Lam Xuan village submitted a petition to the People's Committee of Gio Mai commune and the People's Committee of Gio Linh district.
Although the people's reflection was accurate, the local authorities came to the scene and caught the subject using an excavator and a truck to mine sand, but the People's Committee of Gio Mai commune only suspended the illegal sand mining, but did not take any measures to handle the violators.
Because the handling was somewhat cover-up, the violator then continued to use excavators and trucks to illegally mine sand a few hundred meters away from the suspended location.
Before this information, from July 22 to July 27, reporters of Lao Dong Newspaper were present at the white sand fields and the area near the rice fields in Lam Xuan village. Here, they recorded the illegal exploitation of white sand and soil in broad daylight.
After Lao Dong Newspaper published articles, the Chairman of Gio Linh District People's Committee requested Gio Mai Commune People's Committee to provide a report to clarify. However, Gio Mai Commune People's Committee ignored the information reported by the newspaper and stated the reasons why people mined sand to build tombs due to land clearance for the Quang Tri airport project. It was not until Gio Linh District People's Committee requested Gio Linh District Police and Gio Linh District Department of Natural Resources and Environment to intervene that the case was clarified and the illegal sand miners were punished.
