HANOI — A former Vietnamese politician unintentionally killed a teenager in a traffic accident in central Hanoi last year but was exempted from criminal prosecution, a police officer told state television, shedding light for the first time on a case that has fuelled criticism online for months.
The interview was broadcast on Monday evening, days after people began leaving flowers at the site where the accident occurred in May 2025, in what dissident and youth groups described as an act of protest in the tightly controlled, Communist-ruled country.
Authorities said the accident's exploitation was carried out by "hostile forces." Reuters could not determine what prompted the recent escalation in leaving flowers at the site.
Videos shared on social media, verified by Reuters, show people in uniform preventing passers-by from leaving flowers and standing next to a tree where the accident took place.
The driver, Nguyen Sy Cuong, is a former deputy chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee and the husband of a minister in the current government. The television interview was the first official acknowledgement of his involvement in the accident after allegations linking him to the case had circulated on social media for months.
During a recent visit to the site, Reuters reporters saw only scattered flower petals near the tree. Plainclothes officers appeared to be monitoring the area from across the street.
Statements from police and the victim's father both referred to the online attention focused on the incident.
"Hostile and reactionary forces ... have deliberately strung together the aforementioned isolated incidents, along with several other cases, to influence and manipulate young people, students, and cause a disruption of public order and security," a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security said in the report.
Citing the findings of the police investigation that was supported by prosecutors, the report on broadcaster VTV said Cuong struck a motorbike with his car while driving in the wrong lane. He tested negative for alcohol consumption and admitted responsibility for the accident.
The investigating agency determined that Cuong violated road-traffic regulations, according to Colonel Nguyen Duc Long, the deputy chief of the Hanoi police, on state television in an interview.
But he added that Cuong was exempted from criminal liability because of mitigating factors. The family of the victim, whose identity was not disclosed in the report, also withdrew its complaint, Long said.
"I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the online community's concern regarding this incident and our family," said Do Viet Hung, the father of the victim, in the television report. His face was not shown. "However, the matter is now in the past, and all issues have been clearly resolved by the investigative authorities."
His daughter, Do Ngoc Phuong Thuy, was 18 when she died, according to a public funeral notice.
