Latest news with #VIETNAMESE
Malaysian Reserve
25-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Vietnam PM Chinh accorded formal welcome on first official visit to Malaysia
VIETNAMESE Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is on his first official visit to Malaysia, was accorded a formal welcome at the Perdana Putra Complex today. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim received his Vietnamese counterpart upon arrival at 2.30 pm, followed by the playing of both national anthems. Chinh then inspected a guard of honour mounted by three officers and 103 personnel from the First Battalion of the Royal Ranger Regiment (Ceremonial), led by Major Mohamad Waqiyudin Abd Rahman. Also in attendance were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said; Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang; Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, foreign diplomats and senior government officials. Chinh is accompanied by his spouse, Le Thi Bich Tran, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, as well as several cabinet ministers and senior Vietnamese officials. Chinh assumed office in April 2021. His visit comes ahead of the 46th ASEAN Summit, Second ASEAN-GCC Summit and ASEAN-China-GCC Summit, all scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur on May 26 and 27. Following the welcome ceremony, Chinh and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim held a bilateral meeting to review the progress of Malaysia-Vietnam relations, which were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in November 2024. Wisma Putra, in a statement, said discussions centred on key sectors such as trade and investment, defence and security, agriculture, the halal industry, renewable energy, tourism, and digital technology. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments, reaffirming ASEAN's role as a cohesive and responsive platform in navigating shared challenges amid evolving geopolitical and geoeconomic landscapes. In 2024, Vietnam was Malaysia's 11th largest trading partner globally and fourth largest within ASEAN. Bilateral trade totalled RM83.11 billion, comprising RM53.86 billion in exports and RM29.25 billion in imports. Malaysian companies have undertaken more than 700 projects in Vietnam, with cumulative investments exceeding USD13 billion (RM55 billion). A joint press conference will follow the meeting, after which Anwar will host an official luncheon at Seri Perdana in honour of his Vietnamese counterpart. — BERNAMA
The Advertiser
09-05-2025
- The Advertiser
'Debt, exploitation and a dirty mattress on the floor': the sad life of a cannabis crop sitter
A VIETNAMESE national who lost his job, overstayed his visa and borrowed money from loan sharks before he was "exploited" into acting as a crop sitter at a Muswellbrook hydroponic cannabis grow house will be out of jail next week. Van Moui Nguyen, 56, slept on a mattress slumped in a room of the house in Midanga Avenue that was otherwise entirely "dedicated" to a million dollar cannabis cultivation and supply operation. There were seven rooms, 188 cannabis plants, 1.4 kilograms of cannabis leaf, a large electrical power board, 136 transformers, 13 exhaust fans, 101 lamp shades and heat lamps and pipes running throughout the house, leading from the pot plants to a pump in the laundry and bathroom. Police said the plants were worth $550,000 on the street while the cannabis leaf had an estimated potential street value of $460,000. Investigators had figured the house was being used to grow cannabis because neighbours had been able to smell it from outside. Once they opened the door, the stench hit them in the face. Nguyen had earlier this year pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in the cultivation of a commercial quantity of cannabis and supplying cannabis over his role at the bottom of the chain in the operation. Judge Roy Ellis said on Friday that, in his experience, crop sitters take on all of the risk for very little reward and when police come knocking they're the ones left holding the bag while those higher up the chain are almost never arrested. He said Nguyen had been "essentially taken advantage of" and exploited by organised crime figures who had set up the crop. He said the 56-year-old had been sponsored by an employer and come to Australia on a visa five years ago. But after three months that company "ceased to exist" and he was left on a farm with other migrant workers. He was struggling financially, spoke very little English and was in Australia illegally after his visa expired when he was approached and asked to take care of "some plants". "Coming from a farming background in Vietnam, he said yes to that although it is clear that he did realise at the end of the day that what he was doing was tending to cannabis plants and that was illegal," Judge Ellis said. Judge Ellis said a psychologist had opined that Nguyen's decision to take on the crop sitting job needed to be understood within the context of his significant financial hardship, unstable visa status, linguistic barriers and psychological vulnerability. He found Nguyen could be given essentially time served, sentencing him to a maximum of two years in jail, with a non-parole of 12 months, which will expire next week. A VIETNAMESE national who lost his job, overstayed his visa and borrowed money from loan sharks before he was "exploited" into acting as a crop sitter at a Muswellbrook hydroponic cannabis grow house will be out of jail next week. Van Moui Nguyen, 56, slept on a mattress slumped in a room of the house in Midanga Avenue that was otherwise entirely "dedicated" to a million dollar cannabis cultivation and supply operation. There were seven rooms, 188 cannabis plants, 1.4 kilograms of cannabis leaf, a large electrical power board, 136 transformers, 13 exhaust fans, 101 lamp shades and heat lamps and pipes running throughout the house, leading from the pot plants to a pump in the laundry and bathroom. Police said the plants were worth $550,000 on the street while the cannabis leaf had an estimated potential street value of $460,000. Investigators had figured the house was being used to grow cannabis because neighbours had been able to smell it from outside. Once they opened the door, the stench hit them in the face. Nguyen had earlier this year pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in the cultivation of a commercial quantity of cannabis and supplying cannabis over his role at the bottom of the chain in the operation. Judge Roy Ellis said on Friday that, in his experience, crop sitters take on all of the risk for very little reward and when police come knocking they're the ones left holding the bag while those higher up the chain are almost never arrested. He said Nguyen had been "essentially taken advantage of" and exploited by organised crime figures who had set up the crop. He said the 56-year-old had been sponsored by an employer and come to Australia on a visa five years ago. But after three months that company "ceased to exist" and he was left on a farm with other migrant workers. He was struggling financially, spoke very little English and was in Australia illegally after his visa expired when he was approached and asked to take care of "some plants". "Coming from a farming background in Vietnam, he said yes to that although it is clear that he did realise at the end of the day that what he was doing was tending to cannabis plants and that was illegal," Judge Ellis said. Judge Ellis said a psychologist had opined that Nguyen's decision to take on the crop sitting job needed to be understood within the context of his significant financial hardship, unstable visa status, linguistic barriers and psychological vulnerability. He found Nguyen could be given essentially time served, sentencing him to a maximum of two years in jail, with a non-parole of 12 months, which will expire next week. A VIETNAMESE national who lost his job, overstayed his visa and borrowed money from loan sharks before he was "exploited" into acting as a crop sitter at a Muswellbrook hydroponic cannabis grow house will be out of jail next week. Van Moui Nguyen, 56, slept on a mattress slumped in a room of the house in Midanga Avenue that was otherwise entirely "dedicated" to a million dollar cannabis cultivation and supply operation. There were seven rooms, 188 cannabis plants, 1.4 kilograms of cannabis leaf, a large electrical power board, 136 transformers, 13 exhaust fans, 101 lamp shades and heat lamps and pipes running throughout the house, leading from the pot plants to a pump in the laundry and bathroom. Police said the plants were worth $550,000 on the street while the cannabis leaf had an estimated potential street value of $460,000. Investigators had figured the house was being used to grow cannabis because neighbours had been able to smell it from outside. Once they opened the door, the stench hit them in the face. Nguyen had earlier this year pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in the cultivation of a commercial quantity of cannabis and supplying cannabis over his role at the bottom of the chain in the operation. Judge Roy Ellis said on Friday that, in his experience, crop sitters take on all of the risk for very little reward and when police come knocking they're the ones left holding the bag while those higher up the chain are almost never arrested. He said Nguyen had been "essentially taken advantage of" and exploited by organised crime figures who had set up the crop. He said the 56-year-old had been sponsored by an employer and come to Australia on a visa five years ago. But after three months that company "ceased to exist" and he was left on a farm with other migrant workers. He was struggling financially, spoke very little English and was in Australia illegally after his visa expired when he was approached and asked to take care of "some plants". "Coming from a farming background in Vietnam, he said yes to that although it is clear that he did realise at the end of the day that what he was doing was tending to cannabis plants and that was illegal," Judge Ellis said. Judge Ellis said a psychologist had opined that Nguyen's decision to take on the crop sitting job needed to be understood within the context of his significant financial hardship, unstable visa status, linguistic barriers and psychological vulnerability. He found Nguyen could be given essentially time served, sentencing him to a maximum of two years in jail, with a non-parole of 12 months, which will expire next week. A VIETNAMESE national who lost his job, overstayed his visa and borrowed money from loan sharks before he was "exploited" into acting as a crop sitter at a Muswellbrook hydroponic cannabis grow house will be out of jail next week. Van Moui Nguyen, 56, slept on a mattress slumped in a room of the house in Midanga Avenue that was otherwise entirely "dedicated" to a million dollar cannabis cultivation and supply operation. There were seven rooms, 188 cannabis plants, 1.4 kilograms of cannabis leaf, a large electrical power board, 136 transformers, 13 exhaust fans, 101 lamp shades and heat lamps and pipes running throughout the house, leading from the pot plants to a pump in the laundry and bathroom. Police said the plants were worth $550,000 on the street while the cannabis leaf had an estimated potential street value of $460,000. Investigators had figured the house was being used to grow cannabis because neighbours had been able to smell it from outside. Once they opened the door, the stench hit them in the face. Nguyen had earlier this year pleaded guilty to knowingly taking part in the cultivation of a commercial quantity of cannabis and supplying cannabis over his role at the bottom of the chain in the operation. Judge Roy Ellis said on Friday that, in his experience, crop sitters take on all of the risk for very little reward and when police come knocking they're the ones left holding the bag while those higher up the chain are almost never arrested. He said Nguyen had been "essentially taken advantage of" and exploited by organised crime figures who had set up the crop. He said the 56-year-old had been sponsored by an employer and come to Australia on a visa five years ago. But after three months that company "ceased to exist" and he was left on a farm with other migrant workers. He was struggling financially, spoke very little English and was in Australia illegally after his visa expired when he was approached and asked to take care of "some plants". "Coming from a farming background in Vietnam, he said yes to that although it is clear that he did realise at the end of the day that what he was doing was tending to cannabis plants and that was illegal," Judge Ellis said. Judge Ellis said a psychologist had opined that Nguyen's decision to take on the crop sitting job needed to be understood within the context of his significant financial hardship, unstable visa status, linguistic barriers and psychological vulnerability. He found Nguyen could be given essentially time served, sentencing him to a maximum of two years in jail, with a non-parole of 12 months, which will expire next week.
