Journalist set on fire, seriously burned
Print 
A journalist of Nguoi Lao Dong (Laborer) newspaper was soaked in petrol and set on fire by a stranger who broke into his house in the Mekong Delta province of Long An early Wednesday.
Le Hoang Hung, an active reporter on social issues, was seriously injured while all the mattress, blanket and pillows on which he was sleeping were burnt to ashes.
According to initial investigation, the yet-to-be-identified stranger trespassed into Hung’s house while Hung was sleeping alone in a room on the second floor.
Tran Thi Lieu, Hung’s wife, said she was in another room with their two kids downstairs when she saw him rushing into the room and screaming: “Help me! Someone tried to kill me!”. His body was on fire at the time.
She pushed him into the bathroom and sprayed water onto his body before taking him to hospital.
Hung was admitted to Long An General Hospital but his burns got so serious he was transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City several hours later for intense treatment.
Doctors said he was in critical condition.
Lieu said Hung had recently told her about strange phone numbers that constantly sent threatening messages to his mobile phone, and that he had planned to report to the police.
Nguyen Van Trach, deputy editor-in-chief of HCMC-based Nguoi Lao Dong, has arrived in Long An to visit Hung, but he declined to comment about the possible causes of the attack.
“All I can say is that Hung is an active reporter,” he said.
According to Lao Dong (Labor) Newspaper, Hung has recently been covering reports on wrongdoings at the Long An Province Market Control Department and trans-border smuggling.
