Hanoi officials disciplined

Twenty-one local government officials in Hanoi, Vietnam are due to face disciplinary charges over their failure to ensure the illegal construction of extra floors on high rise buildings in the city were not carried out.

Four of the officials are from the city's construction department, including its deputy head Bui Van Chieu, reports state news agency Thanh Nien.

The others are local leaders of the Ba Dinh, Dong Da, and Hai Ba Trung districts, where the unlicensed floors were built. It is not clear at present if bribery was involved, said the report.

The Hanoi People's Committee has ordered the demolition of the illegal buildings, which included a 21-story tower with four “unlicensed” floors, a 10-story building with five “illegal” floors, and a 17-story tower with three “unauthorized” floors.

The building's owners will also have to pay fines for breaching construction codes, said the report.