Two men, one former senior police officer, have been fined for illegally building houses in protected forestland in Danang City.

Police in Danang City’s Lien Chieu District on February 4 fined Major-General Phan Nhu Thach and mining company owner Ngo Van Quang and the houses they built were ordered to be destroyed.

Thach, director of Quang Nam provincial police until his retirement in September 2014, was fined VND22.5m for illegally buiding a house on land administered by the Lang Van resort and tourism area poject at Hai Van Mountain in the Hai Van forest.

Thach's villa

Quang, who is the owner of a gold mining company in Quang Nam Province, was fined the same amount for building a "palatial" house at Chim Chim Hill in the specialised forest of Nam Hai Van.

Quang’s “palace”

The houses were ordered to be vacated and destroyed within 35 days of the ruling.

Quang was fined a further VND15m for building on designated forest land without a license.