Nguoi Lao Dong
January 30, 2011, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hung, 51, a reporter for the newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong, died in a Ho Chi Minh City hospital 10 days after an unknown assailant entered his house in Tan An town, dousing him with chemicals and setting him ablaze, according to local and international news reports. Hung, who was sleeping at the time of the attack, suffered severe burns to more than 20 percent of his body, according to news reports.

Some local media ran photographs showing the extent of the blaze. The bedroom walls were blackened with smoke and the furniture was charred. Hung's wife, Tran Thi Lieu, told reporters that the journalist had received threatening text messages that originated from unknown numbers prior to his death.

News reports said Hung had regularly covered official misconduct in the Mekong Delta region. BBC Southeast Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey said Hung was covering a case in which a local authority in the southern province of Long An was being sued for alleged illegal appropriation of land.

Police did not identify suspects in the case. Hung is survived by his wife and two daughters, 17 and 12.

Medium:Print
Job:Print Reporter
Beats Covered:Corruption, Crime
Gender:Male
Local or Foreign:Local
Freelance:No
Type of Death:Murder
Suspected Source of Fire:Unknown Fire
Impunity:Yes
Taken Captive:No
Tortured:No
Threatened:Yes

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