"Don't wait for someone to speak for you"

The incident quickly attracted public attention and was investigated by the authorities. However, immediately after information and images related to the incident were exposed in the press and on social networks, the employee's labor contract was terminated by the company.

On his personal page as well as in response to the press, Mr. Lieu Quy Ngan, the whistleblower, affirmed that he is a patient with stage 4 kidney failure, and every other day, he has to go to the hospital for dialysis to maintain his life. The whistleblower's denunciation is to protect the health of consumers, including his friends and relatives, not for any personal gain. And according to him, during the journey of speaking out that lasted from 2022 to now, he has reported to many levels of the company's leadership. The only responses he received were promises to handle the situation internally, but he himself was transferred, disadvantaged in his work, and even attacked by a stranger with a knife right in front of the store where he worked.

In the above incident, what remains in the minds of consumers is not only the image of pieces of pork covered with red, bruised spots stamped with rectangular slaughter control stamps (the type of stamp used for domestic livestock meat) but also the inconsistent information of CP Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company about the incident. This company even requested to handle the whistleblower for "posting false information, defaming, seriously insulting the reputation, honor, and dignity of the company and its employees". It was also the representative of this company, after initially working with the authorities, who had to admit that the images in the accusation were real.

The images and information were posted on social media by Mr. Lieu Quy Ngan in the content of denouncing food safety violations at a food store of CP Vietnam Livestock Joint Stock Company.

Photo taken from Mr. Lieu Quy Ngan's personal page

Consumers are still waiting for the final investigation results from the authorities. But regardless of the outcome, the fact that a worker and consumer persistently spoke up and accepted to confront a large enterprise in the livestock industry in the face of deceitful manifestations that could harm the health of food users is also something to be respected. If Mr. Ngan had not come forward to denounce, perhaps the image of disgusting pieces of pork would have remained.

That problem will just lie dormant in the internal chat group and go around in circles in the company's promise to handle it like the way it has existed for the past 3 years.

In the past 2 months, the authorities have exposed dozens of production lines of fake functional foods, fake modern medicines, fake milk with huge volumes and many fake brand names. Hundreds of subjects directly producing, distributing and assisting in fake foods and fake medicines have been prosecuted and detained. Some businesses in these lines have existed for decades, their hairline has infiltrated even major hospitals, doctors' prescriptions or spread widely on e-commerce platforms and social networking sites. This means that many consumers have bought, used and become victims of fake medicines, fake foods, and poor quality goods. But most consumers choose to remain silent and ignore instead of reporting to the authorities. This is one of the factors that causes the production and consumption lines of fake foods and dirty foods to expand their operations, eroding the trust and health of consumers.

“Don’t wait for someone to speak up for you” – that is the name of a book by Journalist Nguyen Duc Hien, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City Law Newspaper, which is also a message to each individual in the face of life’s movements. In the preface of this book, the author writes: “If you remain silent in the face of evil, tomorrow you or your children will suffer. If you remain silent in the face of injustice, tomorrow you may be the victim. If you remain silent in the face of pain, don’t ask why life is so unfair.”

Choosing to speak up or remain silent are all trade-offs. But in the face of food safety threats, we hope that more people will proactively speak up when they discover or suspect violations; provide accurate, transparent information without personal gain to contribute to the authorities in the fight against fake and dirty food, protecting the health and rights of consumers.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202506/dung-cho-ai-len-tieng-ho-minh-d58197c/