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After Tet, peach and plum blossoms bloom all over the Northwest, bringing a sense of vitality and freshness. The road from Lao Cai city to Cam Duong commune is about 15km long, winding around the hillsides, with houses looming in the morning mist. The new road surface is paved with clean asphalt, changing the face of this land.
We met Captain Nguyen Cao Cuong (born 1989) - Deputy Chief of Cam Duong Commune Police, a face in the Top 19 nominees for the Young Faces Award, Top 19 nominees for the Outstanding Young Vietnamese Faces Award 2024, at the headquarters of the Commune People's Committee as scheduled.
The Captain is strong, with bright eyes and a gentle smile, a deep, warm voice. He shared many interesting things about his life, his career, his efforts, his perseverance, his spirit of dedication, as well as his experiences and professional sensitivity, especially helping people escape the terrible landslide that completely buried 10 houses on the evening of September 9 last year.
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Captain Nguyen Cao Cuong surveyed the resettlement area after the landslide. |
“They have basically stabilized their lives, and some households are rebuilding their houses. But I will take you down there so you can get a closer look at the situation,” Mr. Cuong shared when talking about the landslide that still gave him “goosebumps” in Da 2 village, Cam Duong commune, caused by storm No. 3 last year.
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Captain Nguyen Cao Cuong was on patrol and discovered a crack on the hill behind 10 houses in Cam Duong. |
Near the landslide hill last year, a resettlement area has now been formed in Da 2 village, Cam Duong commune. We visited the house that is about to be completed of the family of Mr. Tran Quoc Thiep (43 years old, Tay ethnic group), which is separated from the landslide hill by an asphalt road. The slope of the hill behind Mr. Thiep's house has been inspected by the authorities and cut to ensure safety. Therefore, Mr. Thiep and 9 other households have felt secure to return to rebuild their houses and start their lives again.
Seeing Mr. Cuong coming, Mr. Thiep happily welcomed him and then told the old story to the stranger: “We always remember the police. Luckily, the police came to inform and support the evacuation, otherwise everything would have been lost. Everyone was heartbroken, some people spent their whole life building a house, but now they lost everything, all their assets were buried in mud. At this age, money and material resources are not enough to overcome. Luckily, with the support of the government and the police, our lives are less difficult.”
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Cam Duong Commune Police moved people and belongings on the evening of September 9, 2024. |
The story of that difficult moment, like a slow-motion film, made us curious and moved... On September 9, 2024, after storm No. 3 made landfall, Lao Cai experienced heavy rain. That afternoon, Cam Duong commune police and local security forces divided into patrol teams to patrol areas at risk of landslides.
At that time, Captain Cuong's group discovered a crack about 15cm wide and 50-60m long on the high hill of Da 2 village, with a high risk of landslide. He called the city police and the commune government to report the situation and ask for instructions. At the same time, the group immediately went to the resettlement area of Da 2 village to inform about the situation and mobilize people to immediately move to the cultural house for temporary accommodation.
That day, in Cam Duong, out of 13 residential areas, 11 were at risk, and the working group's phone rang continuously. Assessing that the Da 2 hamlet was the most serious, the locality mobilized trucks from the commune police, officers, soldiers, and militia to divide into groups to carry belongings and bring them along.
The villagers saw that the forces were coming in large numbers and in such a hurry, so they agreed to leave immediately. By 6 p.m., the evacuation of people and belongings was completed. The authorities set up stakes and ropes to prevent people from moving or passing through, and returned to the unit to evacuate files and documents because the water had begun to flood.
“At that time, I was a bit scared, wondering if anyone would come back to get anything else. Luckily, we went to the cultural house to check and everyone was safe,” Captain Cuong recalled.
At around 8pm on September 9th, the rain became heavier and heavier. The working group, judging that Da 2 village was the source of the water and prone to landslides and floods, returned to see how high the water level had risen. After checking the situation, they returned to the inter-village road to return to the commune.
About a minute after passing through the landslide area, they heard a loud explosion like a bomb behind them. The entire hill collapsed almost immediately, burying 10 houses that had just been evacuated that afternoon.
After that, the situation of the people was continuously reported to the superiors. At the same time, the commune police were on duty, taking measures to ensure safety, security and order in the area. In the following days, rice and food were fully provided to the people.
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Captain Cuong shared that he was born in Cam Khe ( Phu Tho ), and since childhood he had cherished the dream of wearing the People's Police uniform. In 2008, after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the police force.
The days at the 7th Mobile Police Battalion stationed in Nhu Quynh (Hung Yen) have forged his strong will and readiness to take on any mission. He and his teammates directly participated in flood relief in Duc Tho ( Ha Tinh ), and lived with the people of Central Vietnam for a month amidst the immense sea of water.
After much effort, in 2011, Captain Cuong was officially recruited into the police force. He was assigned to Dien Bien province, then to Son La. With the desire of youth to venture out, explore, and learn about new lands, he volunteered to go to the most difficult areas.
In 2013, Mr. Cuong was assigned to Lao Cai City Police. After working in various positions, in 2019, he received a decision to work in Cam Duong commune, where he has worked for the past 6 years.
In November 2024, Mr. Cuong was appointed Deputy Head of Cam Duong Commune Police, in charge of fire prevention, rescue and traffic.
According to Mr. Cuong, Cam Duong is a commune with a large area, a large population and a complicated security situation. Currently, the commune police force has to undertake many important tasks, from receiving case files to investigating and reporting to superiors.
Previously, for security and order issues, the Commune Police would report to the City Police to send professional teams to approach and handle them. But now, for such cases, the Commune Police will accept the case file and forward it to prosecution.
"To keep up with the new situation, the brothers in the unit determined that no matter how difficult or arduous it is, we must share and encourage each other to excellently complete the assigned tasks. To prepare for the very important work coming up, we have updated and researched the regulations, and acquired new knowledge and experience to be able to do it," said Captain Cuong.
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Captain Cuong shared that the most difficult thing at the commune level is how to resolve the case in accordance with the law while ensuring harmony, closeness to the people, and closeness to the people. To do this, the brothers in the unit regularly stay close to the area, encourage, visit and collect information.
When incidents are just “budding” and developing, you must take measures to quell them and prevent them from becoming complicated. Furthermore, the legitimate wishes and requests of the people must also be resolved satisfactorily.
He said there were very small things like mother and son arguing. The mother was over 80 years old and had a pension; the son was grown but still loved to play, constantly coming home to ask for money in the middle of the night. The mother was helpless and had to ask the commune police for help.
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Captain Nguyen Cao Cuong said that one of the most important things the Commune Police need to do is to stay close to the grassroots, grasp and handle cases as soon as they arise, and resolve them in a reasonable and appropriate manner. |
The commune police intervened, reminded and warned the son that if he did not comply and caused disorder, the police would take measures to handle him in accordance with the law. At the same time, they also advised and explained about psychology and filial ethics so that the son could understand and change.
Or like the case of the husband who came home late from drinking and demanded to sleep with his wife, but the wife firmly refused, so he beat her. The wife reported it to the police. When she went to the police station, the husband repented and complied, so the police could not firmly punish him.
“Commune police eat and live with the people. The people are the root, so we cannot be too strict or overbearing in handling cases. In such cases, we also have to influence the family by telling them that if they do not comply, they will be punished for administrative violations, send notices to the village to get opinions on cultural families, and then do so will affect the children's efforts. That way, they understand and comply,” said Captain Cuong.
Captain Nguyen Cao Cuong, Deputy Chief of Cam Duong Commune Police (Lao Cai City) was the one who directly discovered the dangerous crack and promptly evacuated 10 households before the houses of 45 people completely collapsed in the historic storm and flood in September 2024.
Captain Cuong was awarded the Third Class Fatherland Protection Medal for his outstanding achievements in rescuing State property, people and people's property in flash floods, contributing to the cause of building socialism and protecting the Fatherland.
![[Photo] Binh Trieu 1 Bridge has been completed, raised by 1.1m, and will open to traffic at the end of November.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/10/2/a6549e2a3b5848a1ba76a1ded6141fae)
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