HCMC transport firm exec arrested after deadly accident

The deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City-based transport company Thanh Buoi was arrested on Friday for allegedly allowing a driver without a license to drive a sleeper bus, causing a deadly accident.

Le Duong, 33, was detained by police in Dinh Quan district, Dong Nai province, which borders HCMC. He is the son of 64-year-old Le Duc Thanh, director of Thanh Buoi.

Dinh Quan district police also arrested 37-year-old Hoang Van Tinh, the driver involved in the deadly incident.

According to investigators, on September 30, Duong allowed Tinh to drive the sleeper bus from HCMC to Da Lat town in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong even though his driving license had been revoked by Lam Dong police on August 5.

At around 2:30 a.m, Tinh's sleeper bus rammed into a 16-seat bus in Dinh Quan district’s Phu Vinh commune, killing five people and injuring three others.

On October 29, the company announced the suspension of its passenger service on routes from HCMC to Da Lat and the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, and from Da Lat to Can Tho, amid police investigations.

Thanh Buoi was fined VND91 million ($3,740) and had its license revoked for three months by the HCMC Department of Transport on November 3.

"We are consolidating documents and evidence to prove the violations of other related organizations and individuals," said a Dong Nai police leader.

Established in 2000, Thanh Buoi is a major transport service provider in southern Vietnam. It currently has more than 1,300 employees and operates routes connecting HCMC, Can Tho, and Da Lat.