Ngueen Duc Dong failed in the country’s first attempt to sue traffic police on June 29.
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| In the dock |
Dong, from Hanoi’s Tu Liem District, lodged a lawsuit against Cau Giay District Police, accusing them of wrongly punishing him for violating road traffic laws six months ago.
According to Dong\'s petition, on November 15 2010 he had driven his car along Phan Van Truong Road and crossed Cau Giay District’s Phan Van Truong-Xuan Thuy Road. He parked in front of a bank at No. 61-63 Xuan Thuy. While he was in the bank, district traffic police seized his car, fined him VND800,000 (USD38.76) for illegal parking, and revoked his driving license for a month.
Dong insisted that he had not violated any parking regulations as he claimed there were no signs indicating it was a no-parking area.
Police rejected his claim, arguing that there were no-parking signs at either end of Xuan Thuy-Cau Giay Road. They noted that the route is among 56 that the city had declared as no parking zones.
However, Dong argued that according to the Road Traffic Law issued in 2008, no-parking signs should be placed at T-junctions and crossroads to warn drivers. In this case, there were no signs and he was unaware of the regulation.
The defendant argued that was the responsibility of the municipal Department of Transport to place the signs. A Cau Giay Police spokesperson responded that the Phan Van Truong-Xuan Thuy intersection was not a T-junction and did not require the signage.
Cau Giay District People’s Court found against Dong claiming it was his responsibility to comply with all aspects of the traffic law.
According to a unnamed prosecuting official, Dong must have been aware of parking restrictions as he regularly used the route.
The court upheld the police’s actions.
At the conclusion of the trial Dong was requested to make a direct apology to the Cau Giay Police and pay an additional VND4 million (USD193.8) in fines.
Dong claims he will pursue the case at appeal.
