A Vietnamese provincial council member says he plans to resign after he was fined 6.5 million dong (U.S.$275) for knocking out his caddy with a golf club over a scoring disagreement during a round of golf, state media reported.
Nguyen Viet Dung, a member of the People’s Council in the central province of Quang Nam, allegedly struck the woman during an argument over the number of strokes she counted while he and four others were playing a round at the BRG golf course in the coastal city of Da Nang on Dec. 6.
The woman, identified only by her initials, N. A. L., lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
News about the incident has sparked public outrage.
Nguyen Hoa, chairman of Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son district, where the incident occurred, revealed the details of the fine, but also said that police were not charging Dung with a crime as the injured woman did not file a complaint against him or conduct an official injury assessment.
State media reported earlier that Dung had submitted a letter on Dec. 7, one day after the incident, saying he intended to quit for health reasons.
However, the council has yet to receive the letter, said Nguyen Cong Thanh, the vice chairman of Quang Nam’s People’s Council.
Dung has publicly acknowledged the incident, admitting to state media that he was at fault. During an interview shortly after the incident, he said he became frustrated while arguing with the caddy over the score, threw his club to the ground, it grazed her hat and snapped in half, then bounced back and struck her in the face.
He said that his relatives were the ones who took her to the hospital and that he paid for her medical expenses.
On Dec. 9, the BRG Da Nang golf course’s parent company sent an open letter to other Da Nang area golf courses calling for an area-wide ban for Dung, and asked that the other clubs inform their members about the incident.
The letter also disclosed that Dung sent his staff to the BRG Da Nang golf club to forbid the club’s staff members, security guards and other caddies from making public statements about the incident.
Translated by Anna Vu. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Edited by Malcolm Foster.