All floral tributes placed by residents to commemorate a deceased female student were cleared into a garbage truck under police supervision.
The Latest: At 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 14, police officers and sanitation workers began clearing away a makeshift memorial at tree No. 55 on Nguyễn Huy Tự Street in Hà Nội.
- The location, dubbed the “justice tree” by netizens, is the site of a fatal May 30, 2025, traffic accident.
From Social Media: The dismantling of the memorial was documented extensively across social media.
At 2:30 p.m., the account duo*** posted a series of images showing numerous police officers surrounding the tree.
- Ten minutes later, the same user uploaded an image of a ride-hailing delivery driver holding flowers at the site, accompanied by the caption:
“Please don’t place any more, everyone; they won’t allow it and it’s hard on the shipper.”
- Around the same time, the user posted another image showing a sanitation worker removing all the bouquets while supervised by four to five police officers.
At 2:35 p.m., the account _.fm*** posted an image of police standing at the site with the warning: “Hey, you can’t place flowers there; we’re calling someone to clear them away now.”
- By 2:49 p.m., the user updated the thread with a photo of the bare tree, stating: “It’s all cleared now, everyone. If you place flowers now, police will remove them.”
- At 3:05 p.m., the same account noted the presence of uniformed civil defense officers guarding the tree, adding, “There are civil defense officers there, everyone; they won’t let people place flowers.”
- Under the post, the account thanhbeone*** wrote, “My spouse and I just placed flowers for her before 2 p.m., but now they’ve cleared them away. Tomorrow night I’ll go up to Hà Nội and place more.”
- Another user, kitkats_***, questioned the legality of the removal, asking, “If people are only placing memorial flowers, not gathering or disturbing public order, why chase them away and clear the flowers?”
- The account ether.in.t*** wrote, “Maybe hold off for now, everyone. Wait until the police leave before placing more. Prioritize doing it at night and see whether they’re enthusiastic enough for a former National Assembly deputy to stand guard overnight.”
The Fatal Accident: According to the newspaper Pháp Luật, the fatal collision occurred at approximately 1:15 p.m. on May 30, 2025.
- A 64-year-old man, identified by the initials N.S.C. and residing in the former Đống Đa District of Hà Nội, was driving a BMW on Nguyễn Huy Tự Street from Trần Khánh Dư toward Yec-xanh.
- His vehicle collided with a motorbike traveling in the opposite direction, driven by Đ.V.H., who was carrying his 18-year-old daughter, Đ.N.P.T.
- The impact broke Đ.V.H.’s leg and left Đ.N.P.T. severely injured, with her right leg severed; she was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment but did not survive.
On May 31, 2025, a representative of Road Traffic Police Team No. 4 stated that the case file had been transferred to the Investigative Police Agency of Hà Nội Police for further investigation and clarification.
At 12:34 a.m. on June 8, 2025, the account of Đỗ Quang Minh, a relative of the victim, confirmed her passing, writing that “Thùy, whom everyone at home called Mina, the victim of the accident that severed her leg more than a week ago,” had died.
On June 10, 2025, an obituary posted on the VOZ forum stated: “The visitation for Đỗ Ngọc Phương Thùy will begin at 2:15 p.m. on June 11, 2025 (tomorrow afternoon). Location: National Funeral Hall, No. 5 Trần Thánh Tông, Hà Nội.”
- The obituary confirmed her time of death as 10:07 p.m. on June 7, 2025, and named her parents as Đỗ Việt Hùng and Nguyễn Quỳnh Trang.
Why It Matters: The lack of accountability for the driver, widely identified online as former National Assembly deputy Nguyễn Sỹ Cương, has become the most prominent topic of discussion on Threads and other social media platforms in Việt Nam.
- Despite the severity of the crash, N.S.C. has not been held publicly accountable. Since the initial transfer of the case file in May 2025, neither police agencies nor state media have provided any further updates.
- In response to this silence, citizens have utilized social media to organize advocacy efforts, calling on authorities to clarify the case.
- The most visible form of this protest was the collective effort to “check in” and place flowers at the site of the crash, a movement authorities are now actively attempting to suppress.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 14, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
