The children and grandchildren are upset.
For months, Ms. Le Kieu Nga (52 years old, residing in Dong Da district, Hanoi - originally from Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province) has been unable to eat or sleep peacefully because her family's graves have been desecrated by unknown perpetrators.
Speaking to a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper , Ms. Nga said she had filed a complaint about this incident with the relevant authorities.
According to the complaint, Mrs. Nga's family and lineage share a common burial plot (a single grave) containing the remains of her grandmother, Le Thi Nam, and her two young grandchildren.
The former location of the mass grave in the vacant land in Dong Xa village (Photo: Duong Nguyen).
"These are my great-grandfather and two aunts. Because the two aunts passed away when they were young, when they were reburied in 1966, family members took a handful of soil from the two graves and buried them together with my great-grandfather. The graves share a single sarcophagus (the outer layer containing the coffin - PV), and are located in the Dap Nga area, Dong Xa village, Hoa Lac commune, Duc Tho district," Ms. Nga said.
Since February 25, 2023, Ms. Nga has been entrusted by her family with the responsibility of caring for and managing the communal burial plot.
In 2023, Mrs. Nga's family and relatives expressed their wish to exhume and relocate the graves of these three individuals to be reburied at the Trang Nhat cemetery (Hoa Lac commune) of the Le Xuan family.
However, on August 6, 2023, Ms. Nga and her relatives, along with a team of workers, carried out the excavation and exhumation of the grave, but found no remains. For more than four hours, they dug and searched by hand around the area but still found nothing, so they had to report the incident to the local authorities.
Nui Thap Cemetery - where it is suspected that grave robbers dug up graves and reburied the remains here (Photo: Duong Nguyen).
"According to some local residents, a few years ago someone arbitrarily excavated and moved the remains from the grave to the Nui Thap cemetery in Dong Xa village, Hoa Lac commune (about 300m from the original location - PV). This is a serious matter concerning morality and ethics between the living and the deceased," Ms. Nga said indignantly.
According to the complainant, she has twice filed reports and denunciations with the authorities of Hoa Lac commune and Duc Tho district in the hope of finding the perpetrator suspected of violating corpses, graves, and remains.
Subsequently, the Duc Tho District Police, in coordination with the Hoa Lac Commune Police and other relevant agencies, launched an investigation.
Now, more than five months later, Mrs. Nga's family is anxiously awaiting the results from the authorities.
Meanwhile, the location of the communal grave, allegedly desecrated by vandals, remains undetermined. This has greatly affected the family's ability to offer incense and worship the deceased, affecting Mrs. Nga and her descendants.
"Digging up human remains, moving them elsewhere, and then creating fake graves?"
Speaking with a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper, a leader of the Hoa Lac commune People's Committee (Duc Tho district) confirmed that on August 6, 2023, the authorities received a report from Ms. Le Kieu Nga regarding the suspected theft of the aforementioned joint burial plot containing three deceased individuals.
Subsequently, the commune directly reported the matter to the district. On the afternoon of the same day (August 6, 2023), the district, in coordination with the commune, formed a working group to directly inspect the scene, draw up a report, and take statements from relevant witnesses.
The district police also dispatched a task force to investigate the case. According to some initial verification, the aforementioned joint burial plot is suspected of being looted sometime around 2013.
An empty plot of land at Nui Thap Cemetery has an old tombstone that is broken in half, suspected to have been moved there by vandals (Photo: Duong Nguyen).
"The suspected grave robber had already erected a fake grave at the original location. In reality, the real grave, as reported by locals, had been moved and reburied near the road leading to the Nui Thap cemetery. This location is in a grove of trees, by a stream. The tombstone of the old grave was found there," this person informed.
According to this leader, the descendants of the Le Xuan family, including Ms. Le Kieu Nga, currently live and work far from their hometown. Every year, during holidays and Tet (Lunar New Year), Ms. Nga and her siblings and relatives often return to visit and offer incense.
Therefore, when criminals are suspected of robbing the graves, they don't detect it in time. Moreover, when they return after a considerable period, any signs of disturbance or tampering will no longer be present.
In 2023, Ms. Nga was tipped off by a local resident living near the grave, who pointed out what was believed to be the new burial site, and that's when the truth came out.
"During the verification process, the police summoned several suspected individuals for questioning. However, I don't know anything about the subsequent investigation and its outcome," the commune leader informed.
On January 17th, in a phone conversation with a reporter from Dan Tri newspaper, a leader of the Duc Tho District Police said that they are investigating and verifying the incident in accordance with the procedures and regulations of the law regarding receiving reports of crimes. "We are investigating, and the results are in progress," he said.
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