Vietnamese woman self-immolates in anti-China protest
Woman dies after setting herself alight outside the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City in a protest against China placing an oil rig in disputed waters
Vietnamese woman committed suicide by setting herself on fire in an apparent protest against China’s placement of an oil rig in contested waters that has aroused deep anger in Vietnam, state media in Hanoi reported on Friday.
Le Thi Tuyet Mai, 67, doused herself with petrol and set it alight in front of the landmark Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City early on Friday, the website of the newspaper quoted an official in the city as saying.
“The fire was extinguished by security guards there after three minutes, but the woman died,” the official, Le Truong Hai Hieu, said.
The report said authorities found a can of petrol at the scene and a note in which Mai expressed indignation over the Chinese oil rig and called for its removal.
Hieu said Mai set herself on fire over personal problems “and her anger over China’s illegal placement of the oil rig in violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty”.
