Thanks
to the ‘assistance’ of corrupt officials who sell certificates of quarantine,
tons of unvaccinated chickens are being illegally transported into Ho Chi Minh
City from neighboring provinces every day despite the current outbreak of avian
influenza.
A goods
owner has to spend VND300,000 (US$14) to buy a certificate of quarantine for
each trip to carry up to a thousand birds into Ho Chi Minh City, or double the
sum for an extra certificate of inoculation.
It is
estimated that tens of thousands of unvaccinated ducks and chickens have been
transported into the city a day. They are all butchered at registered slaughter
houses before being supplied to restaurants and factories’ canteens in
industrial parks.
‘A
field trip’
A big
dealer named Ut Hue in Binh Tam Commune of Long An Province’s Tan An District
assured her client two weeks ago about the provision of a large amount of
chicken.
“Don’t
worry. I can provide you as many as you need even though there is an outbreak
of avian influenza in many provinces,” she said. “It’s free to transport inside
Long An, but you have to buy yourself certificates of quarantine to carry fowls
to other locality.”
Hue
admitted that she sometimes slaughtered a small amount of inoculated chickens
and sent them to a local veterinary agency to get certificates. Then the seal
of the packaging is broken to add in illegal fowls. When transporting a large
amount of chickens, she said she paid 300,000 dong to simply buy a certificate
to legalize her trip into HCMC.
At the
gathering point on Phan Huy Ich Street in HCMC’s Go Vap District, the chicken
is divided into small amounts and transferred to motorbikes for delivery to
restaurants.
“I buy
the goods at the very root and sell it directly to users, so how can I have a
certificate of quarantine? During the transport, the only way is to avoid
police,” said Hue.
Another
dealer, Ms. An in Tan Dong Hiep Commune of Binh Duong Province’s Di An
District, told Tuoi Tre, “I buy chickens that haven’t been quarantined from
remote villages in Tri An District in Dong Nai and distribute them directly to
industrial parks’ canteens in Binh Duong.”
Illegal
chickens are all transported after midnight to dodge police, she said.
‘Aid’ by veterinary officials?
A
dealer named Thao in Mo Cay Bac District of Ben Tre Province admitted that she
paid VND300,000 to buy a certificate of quarantine for each shipment of illegal
chicken and ducks into Ho Chi Minh City.
“I
accept the responsibility of supplying the goods to you, you don’t need to care
for anything. I can have quarantine certificates granted by district- or
province-level authorities,” Thao told a Tuoi Tre journalist playing the role
of a restaurant owner in HCMC.
After
talking on a mobile phone for a while, Thao said a man from the provincial
veterinary office in Ben Tre agreed to grant her a quarantine certificate when
she transports her goods to Ham Luong Bridge.
“Wherever
you collect the goods from, just carry it here and I will give you a valid
certificate to transport into HCMC. On the certificate, it is noted that the
goods come from Ben Tre Town.
“If you
want, I will give you a seal so that you can seal the goods off after adding
more along the way to HCMC,” Thao added.
On the
morning of March 16, Tuoi Tre’s disguised journalists had a date with the man
Thao mentioned.
He
introduced himself as Buu and said he worked for the Ben Tre Veterinary
Department. He said, “Regulations rule that fowls must be inoculated before
being granted a quarantine certificate.
“If you
have no certificate of inoculation, I can offer help. It’s 600,000 dong for
both certificates of inoculation and quarantine for a shipment of 1,000
chickens.”
Buu
added that any dealer needing to transport illegal fowls can call him or send
him an SMS message including details such as the number plate of the truck, the
driver’s name, and the address of slaughter house and they will be given a
certificate at Ham Luong Bridge.
Tran Quang Thai, acting chief of the Ben Tre
Veterinary Department, told Tuoi Tre that any officials receiving bribes to
grant quarantine certificates will be strictly punished, although he has never
heard of his staff committing any wrongdoings.
It is ruled that the origin of fowls must be
clearly stated on the quarantine certificate. For example, it is wrong if the
goods come from districts such as Mo Cay Bac and Mo Cay Nam but Ben Tre is
stated on the certificate, he said.
Regarding the man named Buu, Thai said he
will investigate, but admitted that one of his staff members is named Le Quang
Buu, who is a veterinary medicine teacher.
Oh! Dear!
Nguyen Hai Tri
TUOI TRE
Business & Investment Opportunities
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