Vietnamese youth demand accountability after teen dies in ex-lawmaker's crash

A traffic collision in Hanoi involving former National Assembly deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong and a motorbike carrying Do Viet Hung and his 18-year-old daughter Do Ngoc Phuong Thuy ended with the teenager’s death ten days after the crash. The incident ignited a grassroots campaign by Vietnamese Gen Z users, who flooded platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X with hashtags #NguyenSyCuong and #BMW, and organized masked flower-bearers at the crash location, now called the Justice Tree.

State broadcaster Vietnam Television later aired an official statement confirming Cuong’s role as driver and noting that his family had filed a petition that led to his exemption from criminal liability. Legal experts have raised doubts about whether due process was observed, and online commentators highlighted Cuong’s marriage to a sitting minister as a possible influence. While the victim’s father expressed gratitude for public sympathy and requested privacy, senior police officials warned that hostile forces were exploiting the case to stir unrest, urging vigilance among young people.