Multiple thefts
At 5:00 a.m. on July 2, when inspecting Hiep Thuong Bridge on Highway 17B (Kinh Mon), security guards of BOT Road 188 Company Limited discovered that the underground lighting cables in the bridge's railing had been stolen. The grounding wires at 4 columns from 6B-9B and the lighting wires on columns from T2-T5 on the right side of the bridge were also stolen.
Mr. Nguyen Thang Ngan, security guard of BOT Road 188 Company Limited, said that when he went to check on the night of July 1 and early morning of July 2, he did not find anything unusual, but when he checked at 5am, he discovered that the electric wires had been stolen. Previously, on June 28, the thief pried open the covers of 36 wire junction boxes on the bridge railing at the foot of the lighting poles and cut the copper ground wires. Of the total 48 wire junction boxes, only 12 were intact.
At 0:30 on July 3, the security guard continued to discover that the lighting power line on Hiep Thuong Bridge on the right side of the route was cut again. Thieves stole the lighting power cable and the copper grounding wire that was underground in the bridge railing. The missing location was from column 10B-12B and column section 13B-14B.
Thus, within just 1 week from June 28 to July 3, Hiep Thuong bridge was vandalized and had its lighting cables stolen 3 times, causing a total loss of about 60 million VND.
Hiep Thuong Bridge crosses Kinh Thay River, 452 m long, 12 m wide, located in the Road 188 Project, An Thai (Hai Duong) and Mao Khe (Quang Ninh), and is important in connecting traffic between the two provinces. The lighting system of Hiep Thuong Bridge has been managed by BOT Road 188 Company Limited since 2008. Before the theft of the electric cables, the lighting system was still operating well, ensuring traffic safety for people and vehicles traveling on the bridge. The theft of the electric cables caused all the lighting lights of Hiep Thuong Bridge to be lost, affecting traffic safety on the bridge at night, causing property loss.
Bridge 789 on Provincial Road 390 in Ai Quoc Ward (Hai Duong City) has also been repeatedly robbed and damaged by thieves. Thieves have stolen the cast iron trash barrier three times, and after it was replaced, it was stolen again. At the end of May, lighting cables on Bridge 789 were stolen twice, with a total length of more than 300 m, causing damage of about 115 million VND.
The biggest loss was the theft of the lighting cable on Hong Duc bridge at km7+672 of the North-South axis road, in Thong Kenh commune (Gia Loc) and Hong Duc commune (Ninh Giang). The thieves cut 595 m of power cable and 672 m of copper grounding wire, estimated at 220 million VND.
Many traffic signs were also stolen by thieves. In July 2023, from km3+250 - km5+190 of Trieu bridge approach road and km13+070 of provincial road 389 in That Hung ward and Bach Dang commune (Kinh Mon), nearly 20 reflective signs were stolen. Thieves took the signs, leaving only the poles. To ensure traffic safety, the Hai Duong Department of Transport assigned a unit to install new traffic signs immediately afterwards, but thieves stole them again, some locations were stolen twice.
Traffic safety impact
Recently, theft and destruction of property and traffic infrastructure have occurred in many localities in the province such as Hai Duong city, Kinh Mon town and Kim Thanh, Ninh Giang, Gia Loc, Binh Giang districts... Thieves have stolen cast iron trash screens, electric cables, lighting wires, traffic signs... A series of thefts have occurred, causing hundreds of millions of dong in damage.
The common feature of these thefts is that the thieves take advantage of the dark, deserted areas to steal and destroy property. The thieves are very sophisticated and reckless, in some cases they only initially pry open the wiring compartments and cut the ground wires, then steal the lighting wires.
Thefts of electric cables and traffic signs not only cause economic losses but also affect road safety and traffic order in the area.
To ensure traffic safety, bridge safety, and timely prevent theft and destruction of traffic infrastructure, the Department of Transport has requested local police forces to promptly investigate, clarify and strictly handle thieves, deter others, and prevent recurrence of violations. Communes and wards need to increase propaganda, raise awareness of the use and protection of road works for people. Authorities need to increase patrolling, control, detection and handling of subjects destroying road works, protecting infrastructure and traffic safety corridors.
Thieves of property and traffic infrastructure may be subject to criminal prosecution.
According to lawyer Duong Duc Trong, Head of Bao Tin Law Office (Hai Duong City), the act of stealing traffic infrastructure assets will be punished according to the provisions of the Penal Code and Decree No. 100/2019/ND-CP dated December 30, 2019 of the Government stipulating administrative sanctions in the field of road and railway traffic. In case the act of theft is of a serious nature, it will be handled according to the provisions of the Penal Code. Anyone who steals another person's property worth from 2 million VND to less than 50 million VND will be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years. If the property is appropriated worth from 50 million VND to less than 200 million VND, the penalty is from 2 years to 7 years in prison. If the property is appropriated worth from 200 million VND to less than 500 million VND, the penalty is from 7 years to 15 years in prison.
Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/ngan-chan-tinh-trang-trom-cap-tai-san-ket-cau-ha-tang-giao-thong-tai-hai-duong-388422.html
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