A 100-year old house, recognised by Thanh Hoa Province as a "historical vestige", was recently sold, despite regulations.
Deterioration
The house belonged to the Le Dong family of Tan Ninh Commune, Thieu Son District. It was built during the reign of the Tu Duc King of the Nguyen Dynasty, Tu Duc, and was recognised as a province-level "historic vestige" in 2003.
Pham Thi Ai, wife of Mr. Le Dong Xu who died some years ago, was in charge of taking care of the house.
Now the house is in bad shape, strewn with piles of stone and dirt. The floor is full of holes.
The house has five rooms with two sheds and 46 pillars made from rare woods. The roof is covered with thick tiles.
It is typical of the types of houses built in the Ma River Delta during that period. Generations have carefully preserved the house up until now, and was the pride of the family.
However, recently, some members of the family opted to sell it. Authorities were informed that a recognised "historic vestige" was up for sale, and the case was referred to district officials, but the sale still went through.
Under the sales contract, Mrs. Pham Thi Ai agreed to sell the ancient house to Quach Thi Tri in Hai Van Commune, Nhu Thanh District. On September 21, Tri made the payment and received the certificate and some objects of the house.
The sale is actually in violation of the Law on Cultural Heritage, and the Thanh Hoa Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism requested that Thieu Son authorities address the matter. Despite this, immediately after the sale, Mrs. Tri hired workers to remove tiles from the roof.
Hua Dinh Nam, People’s Committee Chairman of Tan Ninh Commune, said, “We informed the district officials, but they failed to stop the sale.”
Mrs. Ai said, “I know that we\'ve sold something with historical significance, and that it is against regulations. But our family does not have the means to maintain it. Over the years, the house has deteriorated and we can\'t afford the restoration. We\'ve asked agencies here to help, but we never got any response. This is the reason we were forced to sell.”
Authorities failed to stop the sale