(VOVworld) – Lieutenant Lu Van Hinh, a scout with Dien Bien province’s border guard was killed during a mission to break up a drug trafficking ring. Acknowledging his courageous sacrifice, the Border Guard Command promoted Hinh from Lieutenant to Senior Lieutenant and launched a drive to follow his example.
Lu Van Hinh of white Thai ethnicity died at the age of 35. While pursuing criminals in Na Hinh hamlet, Hinh was attacked by two drug traffickers and was stabbed from behind. Though critically injured, Hinh managed to stop them and seized 440 grams of heroin and 400 ecstasy pills. The case was solved but Hinh died despite efforts to save him by doctors and his comrades.
Hinh dreamed of becoming a border guard since he was little. His father, Lu Van Mau, said Hinh’s death is a huge loss but he is proud of his son because he died for the nation.
Hinh married Lo Thi Tinh in 2002 and had a son and a daughter. Tinh understood and sympathized with her husband’s job. Hinh stayed at work most of the time and only came home once every 3 or 4 weeks. From time to time, he had to travel to Laos and sometimes stayed there for up to 3 months. Tinh’s tears have dried since her husband’s funeral but looking at Hinh’s portrait, she still has a hard time believing that her husband is dead. She said: “If he did not come home, we either talked by phone or sent an SMS at night. He was always the first to communicate because he was worried about me.”
Diverting her gaze to the garden, Tinh continues: “He brought flowers from Dien Bien and liked to water and fertilize them himself. He bought and grew whatever flower our daughter liked. He took care of the garden every afternoon after work.”
Hinh was quiet, hard working, enthusiastic and brave. He was awarded many certificates of merit by the Provincial People’s Committee and Border Guard Command. In 2011 he was given a certificate of merit by the Security Department of the Lao province of Phoong Sa Ly for his contributions to drug-related crime prevention and control. Nguyen Thanh Diu, Deputy Political Commissar of the Dien Bien Border Guard Command, says: “Hinh was an experienced scout in solving drug-related cases. As a local ethnic, Hinh understood the customs and language of local people, which is vital to our efforts to prevent and combat drug trafficking.” Nguyen Tran Tien, one of Hinh’s comrades, said he was very sociable and friendly: “Hinh was very friendly and supportive. He wholeheartedly helped younger comrades to apprehend criminals and to collect information. His passing is a huge loss to me and to all the officers involved in drug-related crime prevention and control.”