Ho Chi Minh City police charge landholder over illegal dumping of more than 250 tonnes of waste

Investigators said Phan Thi Xuan Mai, 59, was arrested and placed in pretrial detention for alleged violations of Vietnam's Penal Code following an inspection of a plot of land in Tang Nhon Phu Ward earlier this month.

Officers inspected the 728-square-meter site on January 15, 2025 and found large amounts of solid waste, including construction debris, household refuse, scrap metal, discarded wood, paper packaging, and glass, stored without required environmental safeguards.

Police said Mai had accepted money from others to allow waste to be dumped on the land.

During the inspection, officers also caught a motorized three-wheeled vehicle unloading waste at the site.

Laboratory tests later determined that the dumped material was non-hazardous solid waste originating from construction activities, with a total weight of more than 257 metric tons. 

Authorities said the waste did not contain substances banned under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The investigation is continuing, with police examining the role of other individuals connected to the dumping.