Ngo Quang Song in his dilapidated house 

Ngo Trung Song, in Trinh Xa Commune in Phu Ly City, is supposed to get a government disability allowance of VND270,000 a month, but instead has been receiving only VND180,000.

Mai Hien Dung, who is in charge of social, invalid and labour affairs in the commnue, is alleged to have been siphoning off part of Song's allowance.

Song, who has been written about by DtiNews, is seriously disabled and cannot work. He has only his government allowance on which to survive, living in a dilapidated house in Trinh Xa Commune.

“With VND270,000 a month, I can only afford to buy three packs of instant noodles a day," Song said, adding that the theft, though seemingly modest, was equivalent to "taking away one pack of instant noodles of mine."

Song’s allowance book proving he received only VND180,000 a month 

The communal government’s decision on the monthly VND270,000 allowance for disabled people

When claiming his allowance, Song records the money he receives in a book. His records show that, to date, he has been paid his allowance for only the first ten months of 2014, and those payments were VND180,000 a month.

The Phu Ly municipal government determined Song should receive VND270,000 a month, from October 2013.

Dung has denied the allegations.

“It’s not true that Song only got VND180,000 a month. We paid him VND270,000 a month in accordance with the regulation, beginning from January 2014," Dung said.

Dung charged that Song’s record book was fake and inaccurate.

Several other disabled people in the commune, including Ngo Quang Doan, have only been getting VND180,000 a month, instead of the approved VND270,000. Doan has the same record book as Song.

Nguyen Phu Do, vice chairman of the communal People’s Committee, who is also head of the communal office of labour, invalids and social affairs, and Nguyen Gia Toan, chairman of the committee, said Song’s allowance book was official.

Concerns are growing that Song and other disabled people in the commune are being robbed of their allowances.

When Song's complaint came to light, Dung and Do met Ngo Trung Phuc, Song’s half-brother, and gave him VND2.5m to pass on to Song, along a with a new allowance book stating he had received VND270,000 a month.

Ngo Trung Phuc, Song’s relative, was asked to accept VND2.5m for Song

“Dung and Do arranged an appointment with me," Phuc said. "They gave me VND2.5m for Song, but I refused."

Dung and Do tried to arrange another meeting with Song’s relatives, again offering VND2.5m and the new record book.

Phu Ly City’s Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs has met with commune officials about the case, ordered that Song receive his appropriate allowance and that an investigation be launched into his allegations that his allowance was being misappropriated.

Other disabled people in the commune, including Ngo Quang Doan, Ngo Phu Tuoi, Ngo Duc Ke and Ngo Doan Soa, have since come forward asking for similar investigations on their behalf.